Kaichō wa Maid-sama! 2005 © Fujiwara Hiro
Lala Magazine under Hakusensha Publishing
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BOOKMARK
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Their story never started like any other love stories out there. Hell, they didn't even know it was a love story. Not until the very end.
It didn't start in a simple "hi" from the guy who'd gotten a reply of a shy "hello" from the girl he approached in a restaurant, or in the park perhaps, or even in a library. It didn't start at the moment the main characters bumped into each other and accidentally swapped their books on the floor that eventually connected them somehow. Nope, it wasn't like that at all. Theirs wasn't a story where the writer started off with something along the lines of "the refreshing wind of summer ruffled the white sundress of the beautiful girl with raven hair…" or "the soft moonlight shine upon the mysterious guy by the beach…"
Theirs was just a boring, normal night routine in the most ordinary place ever: the convenience store.
They have known each other. No, not exactly what you think. They have known each other in terms of presence. He knew she was there, sitting in her usual spot one table away from him, glaring down at the thick novel as if the book just offended her grandmother. She knew he was there, sitting on his usual spot one table away from her, silently tapping his pencil on the corner of his notebook as he concentrated on the complicated trigonometric problem on his textbook.
And that was it. They've known each other just by their constant presence in their late-night hobby of staying in the 24-hour convenience store in a lonely corner of the street.
They didn't know each other's name, nor do they have the intention to ask for it. He didn't know the petite, raven-haired girl's name was Ayuzawa Misaki and that she possessed the most beautiful amber eyes anyone could ever see. Likewise, she didn't know the blonde guy who wore glasses was called Usui Takumi and that the eyes behind the glinting glasses were made of captivating liquid emeralds. They didn't even know how the other's voice sounded like. They were totally comfortable like this; keeping each other's company in absolute silence.
They were strangers, yet they shared the same piece of string that seemed to connect them: they both love to hang out in this cozy, little store when everyone else was deeply asleep. Unlike its bustling atmosphere during the day, the store was comfortingly quiet at night. Maybe because they were the only people there besides the other two nightshifts behind the counter. There were occasional customers, too, but they never stayed long.
Sometimes, Takumi was first in. Sometimes, it was Misaki. They never acknowledged each other whenever the other arrived later. And that was just as fine. They didn't need to voice out the mutual feeling of unexplained relief briefly flooding through them.
Sometimes they would look up at the same time and their eyes would graze at each other. But the tiniest split of time and the distant between them was tad a bit wide to actually imprint each other's face in their heads.
They honestly couldn't remember when or how it all started, all they knew was they were there. But they surely knew when and how it ended…
It was on a cold, rainy, spring night. Not stormy, really. Just enough to make you shiver. But still, it was not exactly a night to start a sweet, love story. Or any story, for that matter. Except only if you planned to write a ghost story. It was eerie. The street was totally deserted. The lamp post outside the store was flickering. Seriously, the exact definition of that night was something coming straight from a horror movie.
The girl, Misaki, was already sitting in her usual spot, reading half-way through the book she'd pulled from her bookshelf that night. Then there was the familiar presence standing behind her.
She was about to ignore him like they always did. But not this time. Not for the guy standing behind her.
"Your bookmark fell," he said quietly, holding out the small magnetic, clip-like bookmark.
If it wasn't for their close proxemics and the obvious fact that he was indeed holding her bookmark between his thumb and index finger, she wouldn't know he was talking to her. In the back of her mind, she was memorizing how his voice sounded.
The guy, Takumi, saw her long lashes blinked in slight confusion. Of course, she had every right to be confused. After all those nights that they sat in silence, this was the first time he ever talked her.
"Oh, um…" she uttered, still not taking her eyes off his hand. He noted how the tiny syllable sounded thin and girlish but sharp from her voice. She looked up and beamed at him, as if they were old friends. "Thanks," she said and took the bookmark.
He stood there beside her, looking down at her while she was sitting rigidly on the metal stool. There was a moment of lag between them as warmth enveloped them.
And suddenly, the curse was broken and the magic started.
Wanting to know more about the stranger that became the companion in their quiet night together, their extended hands clasped together in a sure sign of new friendship. Or possibly even more.
"I'm Usui Takumi." His gorgeous warm smile was crooked.
"My name is Ayuzawa Misaki." Her smile was the most innocent and cute.
And finally, finally, their gazes met long enough to see how breathtakingly beautiful each other's pair of eyes were.
And from then on, the clean, empty table that used to separate two strangers was now filled with snack wrappers, trigonometry books, a thick novel and long chatters with occasional laughter that went on through the night.
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28 July 2014
おわり
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SORA'S RAMBLING CORNER:
OMG. Another one-shot story from yours truly!
I swear I have never intended to write another one-shot after TGIF because I am currently writing the next chapter of MATC. But a tiny slip from the line "Their story never started like in any other love stories out there," suddenly triggered a whole new story. It's just a very, very simple line which I intended to use somewhere in MATC, but now I can't use it. Great, Sora. Just great.
Gosh, I really should keep my imagination around tight leash.
Anyway, it's nothing much but I hope you like it. Thanks for reading until here
natsu_no_sora out to buy a leash, ja ne!