I was walking to the best place in the park, the bench beneath the weeping willow tree that overlooked a small pond. There, if you looked into the water close enough, you could see the small shadows of fish swimming about. I got to my bench, with my hand gripping a lunchbox which contained nothing but fresh strawberries that seemed to taste better beneath that tree.
The closer I got to the bench, the more the figure of an oddly-sitting man became clearer. I was directly behind my special bench when the man's head tilted to the side in obvious question. "Who are you?" I asked sternly.
"My name is Ryuzaki," was all he said. His hand reached up to his mouth, and I couldn't see what he was doing with it. The small wrinkles in his bent elbow made me notice his clothing: a white shirt and baggy jeans. The worst part was that, even from behind him, I could tell he had no shoes on.
He was sitting in a strange position, with his knees near his chest and feet gripping the edge of the bench. "Okay," I breathed, "My name is _." I raised an eyebrow as I walked to the front of him, being careful not to tip off the side of the hill that led into the pond.
His face was very pale with big black eyes that had pools of darkness beneath their lids. His hair was messy and black. And his body screamed malnutrition. "Nice to meet you," he said with a tired voice.
I decided to sit next to him, well, as far away on the bench as possible. The sunset was beautiful, and this creepy guy wasn't going to ruin the one hour of happiness in my day. Ryuzaki didn't even glance over me as I inched as far away as possible from him. In fact, he seemed use to the rudeness I presented.
"I know what you're thinking. I do not have many friends, no. But, I can assure you I won't do anything odd." His half-lidded expression didn't even change as he spoke. I didn't know whether to just nod or say something to comfort the friendless freak.
I decided to open my lunchbox instead of replying, taking out the container of strawberries slowly and carefully, being sure not to look over at Ryuzaki. I didn't want to feel the guilt of having to offer him one of my favorite foods.
I popped a couple of the fruits in my mouth before looking over to the side of me. Ryuzaki was two inches away from my face, staring at me. "WOAH!" I screamed, flailing my arms to grab the top of the bench. His expression was blank as he looked at me crumpled up in the corner.
"I do love strawberries. May I have a few?" He uttered.
"S-sure, I guess so." My voice was shaky as he reached over me to grab the container of strawberries. He picked three up with his long, white fingers and plopped them in his mouth. Then, he took three more seconds later and practically swallowed them without chewing. "Jesus, dude, learn some manners," I mumbled.
"The more people tell me to learn manners, the chance of me actually doing so drops by around seven percent," he stated with the red juice from the chewed up strawberries dripping from his mouth. He didn't bother to wipe it as he gave me back the container with, wow, one strawberry left. I popped it into my mouth and angrily chewed, almost disgusted that the guy's fingers could've skimmed over it.
"You like percents, huh? Well the percent of people who come here except me should be zero," I made a circle with my index finger and thumb to represent the fact clearly. "And you have juice on your chin."
He went to wipe it off with his sleeve, but I quickly moved over and grabbed his arm. "No, no. Don't use your white shirt to get red juice off your face, Ryuzaki. You do this." I licked my pointer finger and dragged it across the stain on his face before I could stop myself. The sense for cleanliness ran strong in my family, and my mother told me that if someone doesn't understand how dirty they're being, show them how to be clean.
And so as I pulled away with a feeling of completion, Ryuzaki's pale cheeks became a light shade of pink. I snickered and went back to my place on the bench.
I would be lying to myself if I said I didn't find him kind of cute. I don't really know what it was, actually. Maybe his weirdness made me excited. Maybe his hair was so different I found it attractive. Maybe his voice was kind of hot. I don't know. I honestly don't like to think about any feelings like that towards anyone. I never had a boyfriend, and I'm out of high school. I never kissed anyone. I tried to focus on school work as much as I could, because I never got the best grades.
And now there was a guy sitting next to me, his thumb pressed up against his lips as he analyzed the situation with his genius brain. A guy who, if I tried to talk to, wouldn't laugh at me and walk away.
"Well, I better get going, it's almost dark," Ryuzaki declared as he got up from the bench into a horribly postured standing position. "Would you like to come to my hotel room? I have someone who could provide us with as many strawberries as we need."
My eyes widened with obvious shock. I don't even know this guy! He could be a rapist! A murder! He could tie me up and torture me for the rest of my life!
Stop thinking of possibilities, live a little and go.
And I did what my heart told me to do instead of my head.
His hotel room was an untouched suite with a platter of cakes and crackers and every single piece of candy you could ask for. "Major sweet tooth?" I asked while elbowing his arm.
"Yes." He said with a nod and walked over to the couch. He picked up a plate with strawberry shortcake on it, and gestured for me to sit next to him.
God, he was strange. I sat next to him on the comfortable couch without the need to grab a plate of sweets and stuff it in my mouth, but my stomach growled and I uncomfortably shifted to the side. Ryuzaki seemed to have excellent hearing, though, and glanced over at me.
"Eat something." He ordered and pointed to the table.
"Are you sure?" I looked over to the food with a watery mouth. If he nodded, I was going straight for that piece of cake with shimmering white frosting. Out of my peripheral vision, I saw him nod and continue eating, and my hand shot straight for the cake. I scooped up the plate and fork without hesitation and soon the cake was melting in my mouth. I made inappropriate noises to make while eating, but it was so good that I couldn't help myself.
"You like shortcake as well? Hmm, interesting," he hummed.
And as soon as we were done with the most delicious food I ever had eaten, I sprawled out on the couch in an awkward position. My head on the edge of the couch, and feet hanging over the side, while the black haired boy stared at me with a thumb to his lips. He stood up, then, and walked into a different room quickly.
I just closed my eyes and a hand on my stomach. My (h/c) hair was probably a mess, and I was scared that Ryuzaki would think poorly of me. There was still a part of me that hoped for him to come in here, with his stupid white shirt and jeans and dark eyes, and kiss me gently. But instead he came back into the room shirtless with a plaid blanket.
Of course, as anyone would at the sudden view of a man's bare chest, I looked away with the urge to stare. What I could figure out about the small glance I saw, he was incredibly skinny, but his stomach was flat and fit. He must have to work out with all those sweets he eats. As I sat up, I felt a strong gust of wind then blankets hit my face and cover me. I breathed in and smelled the scent of cake and shampoo. I concluded that Ryuzaki smelled like that.
"My name is L. Lawliet, and I'm so sorry for lying about my name. I have deduced that you are not Kira based on your actions," he declared.
I peeled the blanket off my face to see him standing straight up (he's actually pretty tall) while using one foot to scratch the other. He looked puzzled for some reason, and nervous.
I may be stupid, but I'm not deaf, Lawliet. "L. Lawliet? As in the legendary L? The genius case solver?" I crossed my arms as I stood and walked over to him.
"You are correct. I'm L," he said with a furrowed brow. "I've also figured out something about you." He came close to my face, inches away. My breathing hitched as he continued speaking. "You, _, are lonely. You have never had a partner while you were in school, and because of that you have no clue how to act with me. From the moment you saw me on that bench, to the second you wiped my face, and I could tell you liked me. I could tell that in school, you always tried your hardest to get the best grades, but you never succeeded. I know everything about you, but just met you, how is that a possibility?" Lawliet surmised.
My mouth was open as I stared at him. "You. . ."
I sat on the playground, sobbing. A group of kids just kicked me out of their game because I'm too weird and different. They told me to go play with the pale kid over there, sitting in the corner of the playground with his knees to his chest. He scratched his head before walking over to me, not caring about walking barefoot on the woodchips. Why didn't he have shoes on? He came up to me and told me about this great place called Wammy's House and how he lived there with a bunch of nice kids. And when he went to grab my hand, a big black car pulled up and took him away. Then, I remembered he never went to my school. He didn't come back until high school, and by then I was too busy to notice him in the back of the classroom with his knees to his chest and feet on the desk in front of him.
I smiled a little and hugged him, squeezing my lost friend with all the strength I had. I chuckled a little and kissed his cheek, but he grabbed my chin and put his lips on mine.
"I'll never forget you again."
It's been around six years since that day. Once and awhile I go to the bench and sit there with a container of strawberries, sitting next to the spot where he was. The sunset is beautiful tonight, reflecting its orange glow against the pond. The weeping willow seemed to be dying, its branches crack off regularly. I opened the container and placed it on the bench, leaning my head back. I never saw Lawliet again, and in fact, I read in the news about someone having a heart attack a number of years ago. Then, today, it was released that someone named Light Yagami was Kira and died in a tower away from the city. I suspected L was killed a long time ago. I wish I knew where he was buried. I stood up and went to walk away, leaving six strawberries on the bench, when I notice something flying through the air. It lands near behind the other side of the tree.
Out of curiosity, I walk around to the other side to see a black notebook laying on the ground.