The Aftermath of Sleep
The light wind whistled through the turning leaves of the verdant forecourt. It was not often that Winchester would receive such warm weather at this time of year, but it seemed like the Kami's above felt rather generous for the orphanage this past week.
As expected, the young children belonging to the large institute known as "Wammy's House," were taking full advantage of this sunny climate; playing outside with their mutual friends and disregarding the fatigue they sensed after long hours of active fun.
"Hey S, wanna play Hide 'n' Seek?" I looked up from what was currently keeping me occupied to see a boy, no older than I was, grinning impishly at me. His dark attire went well with the reddish hair he possessed and his tinted goggles hung loosely around his recently tanned neck.
"Um…Ok," I replied.
After putting my equipment away, I stood up and stroked my summer dress, hoping to reduce the creases present on my clothing. It appeared that the boy found my actions incredibly entertaining as he quietly chuckled to himself.
"What's so funny Matt?" I asked, wanting to know the cause of his laughter.
"It's nothing. We better get a move on since everyone is waiting for us, ya ready yet?" responded Matt.
"Yes, let's go," I was a bit confused as to why Matt had failed to answer my question but ignored it nonetheless.
"Man, you wouldn't believe how hard it took to convince Mello to play with us; i had to practically risk the possession of my favourite video game for him to just consider joining! Seriously though, that guy needs to know when..." Slowly, i subconsciously began to divert my attention away from Matt's rambling, since a thought had come into my mind; I wonder if Near will be there?
It was true, I, Sarah, had a huge crush on the noted prodigy named Near. I did not know what I found so appealing about him; he doesn't come across as the handsome Prince who was willing to sacrifice almost anything for the girl he loved. To be quite frank, Near was the complete opposite of anything remotely charming.
Still, I knew for certain that once you had the "privileged opportunity" of getting to know Near better, (which was very unlikely if I say so myself, getting Near to open up to you is like getting an elephant to do gymnastics) you would be able to see that he could be a very nice individual.
"Hey guys! I got S to play with us, should we decide who wants to do what?" My train of thought was suddenly interrupted at hearing Matt's excited voice. I narrowed my eyes, keen to find Near amongst the crowd of children that stood in front of me.
"Matt, is… Near not here?" I questioned, facing the ground as I suddenly felt shy amongst everyone's presence.
"Uh…I asked him to but he said no," said Matt.
Moments later, the game had commenced and I found myself hiding behind a large bush. Lying on my back, I gazed soundlessly at the sky, enjoying the warmth of the sun on my naked arms, before closing my eyes and letting the darkness engulf my vision.
"Unhh…."I groaned as i felt something warm prodding my face. Despite my desperate attempts to end the disturbance, it continued, forcing me to open my eyes.
"S, What are you doing here?" I gasped, as I saw the person who was opposite me.
"N-Near…" I whispered, unable to stop the tint of red from appearing on my face as I realised how close the fair-headed boy was from me.
"Yes, I am Near, could you possibly give me a reason to why I had found you here?" he queried, moving to sit next to me instead.
"I…um…i-i was playing Hide 'n' Seek and I must've f-fallen asleep, [A/N: Hey, that rhymed!]" I said, as I brought my legs to my chest.
"Is that so? But if I recall, the objective of the game is to not be found by your fellow players, do you not know that?" said Near, twisting a lock of his hair with his index finger.
"I do but I suppose I'm not very good at hiding…" i replied, "…but that doesn't explain why you're here?" i carried on.
"Hm…" Near played with his hair for a while before he spoke, "…I do not think i am obliged to give you an answer S," he said.
"And why is that?"
"It is unnecessary information. But if I did tell you, I would need to have something in return, are you willing to make such a sacrifice?"
I furrowed my eyebrows as I tried to see through what Near was getting at.
"Yes I would, but Near...what do you mean by-mmph," I was cut off from talking as I felt Near's lips touching mine.
"There you are S! I finally found…uh,"
"Oh!" I abruptly broke the kiss with Near, as I saw Matt standing a few feet from us. I felt myself go hot and avoided looking into his eyes, feeling rather embarrassed at being caught.
However, the sound of laughter made me look up. Matt was wiping a tear with the back of his hand whilst grinning at me.
"Wow, who would've guessed Near had it in him?" he said, stuffing his hands into his pockets.
"I feel the exact same about you Matt and you still yet to prove yourself," answered Near, making Matt blush.
I laughed as I placed my hand into Near's; I'm glad you kissed me...maybe i should play Hide 'n' Seek more often, I thought, smiling.