"You taught me how to love, but not to stop."
The dim lamps hanging from the ceiling made her auburn hair shine, switching from a deep red to a light brown every time she turned her head.
She was fidgeting around, and she couldn't stop no matter how much she wanted to.
Her manicured nails tapped rapidly on the table before pressing random buttons on her phone.
Nervous wasn't the right word to explain the feeling.
But guilt and anxious were a good combo.
They were supposed to meet here at the coffee shop at seven thirty.
Her deep amber eyes glanced over to the wooden clock for what seemed like the hundredth time.
Seven forty six.
He was sixteen minutes late and she was fifteen minutes early, but she would be lucky for him to show up at all.
"Kimiko?"
And speak of the devil.
"Oh, Sasuke."
Awkwardly, the usually loud and rowdy girl stood from her seat, being awfully quiet now. The two met eyes, exchanging a quick, forced smile before sitting down.
"Naruto's not here yet?" His voice was still deep but soft. She couldn't remember the last time he used it to call out for her, and to tell her he loved her.
"No, I think he's running late." The happy go lucky blonde was going to be late, just on purpose.
Ever since Kimiko broke up with Sasuke, Naruto noticed how distant they were not only from each other, but society its self. All they focused on was working and getting home, where they would rot away in solitude.
The first few weeks, they felt empty.
After a while, they tried to direct all their attention onto work, in hopes of forgetting about each other.
But love wasn't an on and off button.
"…So how are your parents?" Kimiko met his parents last November, when the leaves were just beginning to go from vibrant shades of orange and red, to a dull brown.
"So you're the Kimiko Sasuke always talks about!" His mother was a spitting image of him, or rather he was a spitting image of her.
"Ah, it's nice to finally meet you Kimiko." In the car, Sasuke warned her about his dad, knowing he was a rather up tight man. But she knew his dad was probably just like Sasuke, seeming to be cold when really, he's a sweet man inside.
"It's so great to meet you guys too!" She bowed politely, making his mom smile warmly.
"Such a nice young lady!" Kimiko and her exchanged big smiles, feeling comfortable with each other already. "Now come on in!
The young Uchiha was more anxious then his girlfriend was, wondering whether or not his father would approve of Kimiko. He wasn't too fond of having a girl in Sauske's life since he wanted him to focus on college.
"So Kimiko," The four of them sat down at the classy wooden table, and his dad went straight to business. "What are you majoring in?"
"I'm majoring in political science, and hope to move into criminology once I gain more experience." His thin brow shot up, impressed by the girl's dream.
"You plan on being a lawyer?"
"That's exactly what I plan to do." Sasuke relaxed a little after seeing his dad continue eating without questioning her any further. But his mother just couldn't hold back.
"You're awfully pretty Kimiko!" The brunette giggled along with his mother, both feeling ecstatic by how well they got along. "Thank god Sasuke brought a girl like you home."
"It's really an honor for me to be here." She glanced over to the fidgeting raventte who sat there, frozen and blushing lightly. "I'm lucky for having Sasuke fall in love with me!"
To everybody's surprise, his father let out a hearty laugh, making everybody blink in shock. He didn't look like the type to laugh, and his family members knew he wasn't.
"You did a good job bringing her home Sasuke." He pointed his fork to his son. "She's a keeper."
"They're doing okay." His light pink lips thinned together in a straight line. "My mom's…A little sick, but it's nothing too serious."
Kimiko's face was full of genuine concern now, wanting to know more about the situation. But that was his choice as to tell her or not now.
"Oh…" She held herself from asking, fighting the strong urge to. "And how's school going?"
"It's still as boring as ever." That couldn't be true, Sasuke always told her how fun it was. Maybe them separating changed him more then she thought.
"Are you…" She hesitated, but curiosity got the best of her. "Seeing anyone?"
His onyx eyes perked up and a little smile danced on his lips, but he didn't give a response.
When someone opened the front door of the coffee shop, Kimiko placed her hands in her coat pockets. It was March, very close to spring, but winter seemed to drag out.
Almost as if it was haunting her.
Her hand suddenly caught onto the cold metal, holding onto it tightly, never wanting to let it go.
But until she let go, the memories would only haunt her further.
"I know this is kind of sudden but…" Her hands curled up into fists so tight that they were almost shaking. "Here, I want you to have this back." With the courage she had left, she held up the small necklace he had given her. It was a one year anniversary gift he gave to her just before she broke up with him.
"…You're giving it back to me?"
She was too afraid to speak, so she merely nodded.
The fall days were beautiful, and she realized then that she had fallen in love with him.
Then the dark and cold winter days crept closer, bringing fear with it.
"I don't deserve to keep this."
And she meant that. Kimiko was afraid to keep it really, knowing that her feelings might resurface. She might hopelessly fall in love with him again.
"No, I'm the one that doesn't deserve to take it back." His smile was genuine, but it didn't carry happiness. "Keep it, it's me saying sorry for not being able to love right."
Her hand flinched, her breathing stopped.
It wasn't him that ruined the relationship, it was her. The frightening thoughts of her being in love with him drove Kimiko away from him. Letting him go would be for the best, for being so deeply in love wasn't something she was ready for.
"What do you mean you want to break up?" He was always understanding, but this was simply too much for him to take. "What did I do wrong?"
It was a negative degree kind of cold, the wind stinging both of their cheeks. December always seemed so warm when they were together, but today was different.
The in tears girl lightly shook her head, keeping her eyes stuck to the floor.
"We just…" She turned, wanting to leave and put this behind. "I just can't."
"…I should be the one saying sorry."
No, falling in love with him wasn't a mistake. It was her fault for being a coward, not knowing if she could take the big commitment.
"Sometimes, I go back to that night." That was a lie, she thought about it every time she was alone. "And I wonder what would have happened if I wasn't so…" She didn't complete her sentence, she didn't know how to.
"Scared?"
She looked up, pleasantly surprised by his answer. "Right…Scared."
"You're right, our relationship was scary." He looked down at his reflection on the untouched table. "It turned into love faster than I thought."
They both digested the fact that they were both thinking the same thing.
"But I guess I was just too ready in moving on in the relationship, I didn't think about you." She was about to protest but he cut her off. "We should be happy we once had something together."
But being together again was out of the question.
Kimiko couldn't take it anymore. "Excuse me." Tears were threatening to fall as she ran outside.
Sasuke's lips curled up into a bittersweet smile, staring at the empty seat across from him.
It was funny how even though she broke his heart, he could still love her with the tiny pieces.