Writer's block really sucked...badly. Len Kagamine, a poet for a teenage girl's magazine tapped the end of his pen on his chin as he sat in a practically empty cafe with his feet up the table and a note pad on his lap. He had a massive pile of ideas for a poem in his mind, but he just couldn't decide which one. Of course, since it was for some girly magazine, it would have to be about romance. Len wasn't the romantic type though. The blonde man groaned as his high school memories began to whirl into his mind.
He was one of the most charming people in his batch. Whenever he walked down the corridors, perfumed hearts would surround him. Heck, even his teachers had crushes on him! When some girls would flirt, he would simply return the favour by flirting back, nothing really serious. He began to write the draft of his new poem, but in less than five seconds, he flipped the pages of his notepad to a blank page. Being a poet wasn't an easy piece of banana cream pie. Speaking of pies, where was his latte and banana bread?
As if on cue, a waitress appeared from behind the counter with Len's yellow cup of coffee (the cup was yellow, not the coffee. But if the coffee was yellow because its flavour was banana, then Len would have drank it in a heartbeat, no matter how hot or how cold it was.) Len paid no mind to her as she set down the cup on the table. He gave her a simple nod as an acknowledgement and continued to write, but something immediately bothered him from continuing his work.
Len slowly glanced to his left to see that the waitress hasn't left yet, much to his curiosity. She seemed to be looking at his crumpled up and worn out notepad that only contained drafts, scribbles and nonsensical drawings of bananas, road rollers, plus a headless version of his neighbour, Kaito, a doodle he had drawn during a massive fight between them which was pretty much about a banana split sundae. "Yes?"
"Huh?" She perked up, still oblivious to the awkwardness of the situation.
"Are you enjoying my artwork? I call it 'El Headless de Idiota." Len joked. It didn't seem to affect the waitress though. Len stopped smiling and looked up at her. Did she need anything? She should go back and serve the other customers and let him finish his job in peace. Len scanned the dining area. All of the customers already had their orders on their tables, so the waitress must have been bored.
"I'm curious. You come here almost every day writing God-knows what in that notepad. So, I had to ask, what do you write in there?" She asked casually as if they were both long time friends. Len ignored that matter and just answered. "Erotic novels for children, got a problem with that?"
The waitress gasped at the answer and motioned to slap him in the face but restrained herself. Len chuckled at the action. "I'm just kidding! Geez woman, calm down." He scanned the (rather short) lady's uniform for any identification. She had shoulder-length blonde hair and sky blue eyes. And another thing, she wasn't wearing a nametag. That was fine with Len; it didn't bother him that much if he didn't know her name. Simply calling her "woman," "kid" or "hag" was alright.
"Actually, I'm a poet for a magazine." The blonde man added with a certain tone in his voice that made it seem like he was bragging. The waitress raised an eyebrow and gave him a cat-like smile.
"Penis metaphors for porn magazines?" Len let out a short-lived cackle and shook his head gently as he took a sip of his piping hot coffee.
"Nah, nobody would pay attention to that kind of shit in a porno." That was true; even the waitress seemed to agree. "But seriously, who do you write for?"
"Crypton...VocaGalz" Len said and quickly looked away from the waitress, preparing himself for the chain of teases he was about to receive. Instead of insults, he began to hear a bell-like laughter from the waitress. It wasn't his decision to join that damn department. (Too pink and frilly for him) Originally, he had applied for a kid's magazine, but due some Godforsaken misunderstanding, he ended up at a girl's magazine
"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, fuckstick." Len groaned while avoiding eye contact with the waitress. She wiped a tear from her eye and her laughter began to die down. Len turned back to look at her with newly gained confidence as soon as she stopped laughing.
"So, if you write for a girl's magazine, then that must mean you write the romantic stuff, am I right?" She asked. Damn, she's got a lot of questions, Len thought. He just nodded. Suddenly the small bell that rung whenever a new customer came in rang and the waitresses jolted up; including the one Len was talking to. She turned to him and smiled mischievously.
"Gotta go, nice talking to you, Shota boy!" Before Len could think of a comeback, the waitress was running towards the other customer with the dopey grin on her face. Len relaxed his shoulders and stared at the notepad. His face lightened up as he stared and began to scribble his newest idea.
~(+)~
"Well, would you look at that; Mr. Penis Poetry is back!" The waitress Len had talked to a month ago chimed as the said poet pushed open the cafe's main entrance. His latest poem was a big hit and he had received a massive amount of positive reviews. But another magazine was had to be published next month, so he had yet another poem to write, but another writer's block has stopped him from continuing his work with ease.
"Writer's block...God, I hate that." Len complained and plopped down on his usual chair and table. The blonde waitress walked up to his table with a notepad and a bored expression on her face. Len studied her for a second and realized she was finally wearing a silver nametag. The name that was written across the plaque was "Rin Kagami," it was quite similar to Len's name, except...he was an L-E-N and his last name had an N-E on the end.
"Hey! Why don't I help you out? I'm not really as great as Shakespeare or Poe but I'll do my best!" Rin suggested. Len gawked at her for a while, analyzing her statements. "Come on, hit me!"
"In the gut or in the face?" Hey, at least he gave Rin two choices. Another thing about Len, he didn't care if you were a man or a woman, he'd still hit you no matter what. Said waitress pouted and tapped her pen on her own notepad.
"So, the usual?" Len nodded and took out his notepad. He flipped to a blank page. (Minus the small attempted drawing of an anime character on the side.) Later, Rin came back with a piping hot soy latte in a yellow cup and banana bread slices.
"So, so! What's your poem this time?" Rin asked. The blonde man hummed for a moment before finally answering. "Roses are red; Violets are blue; that's none of your business, so shoo, shoo!"
"Seriously, I'm a major in journalism, so I might be of help! It's just help though; don't get the wrong idea..." Len perked up. So, she was still in college? Len had finished college about two years ago, and Rin was practically around his age. Maybe she just took another course after her first one...or maybe she had already finished college and was referring to her major when she was still a college student...or maybe she was younger than she looked...Gasp! She could even be a tranny along the way!
"E-Excuse me...are you...um...gender confused?" Len stammered out. Rin's jaw dropped until it hit the wooden floorboards. She grabbed a silver spoon that sat on top of Len's pile of unused tissue papers and hit him on his forehead. "Where the hell did that come from?!"
"...Nothing, um...so that means you're still in college, right?" Len asked. Rin dropped the silver spoon and nodded slowly. "Oh..."
"Rin-chan! Mind helping us here in the kitchen!" A girl with two long, teal pigtails and a waitress uniform called out from the kitchen. Rin looked towards the door and waved at Len. "See ya, later."
"Back at ya, lolicon." Len called out as payback for calling him a shota. Unfortunately, she didn't hear his insult, much to the blonde man's dismay. Meanwhile in the kitchen, Rin was searching for a new pack of sweetener while her co-worker, Miku was staring at her with a smirk plastered on her pale face.
"So~ who was that? Your boyfriend~?" Rin choked at Miku's sudden guess.
"Of course not! Who would want to date a sick bastard like him?" Rin snapped without sparing Miku as much as a glance. The tealette hummed.
"Well, with his looks and all...possibly a lot." Miku answered. The blonde waitress finally found the sweetener in the third cupboard and got down on her feet. She looked at Miku. "Yeah...possibly."
"What's his name?" The tealette asked. Rin jolted up.
"I...don't even know yet..."
~(+)~
Another month has passed and another poem was written.
"Oh yeah...I don't even know your name yet." Rin said as she stood beside Len's usual table. Come to think about it, they've already known and talked to each other for two months, and yet Rin still didn't know Len's name. He chuckled at his silliness and pulled out a calling card, handing it out to Rin casually.
"Len, huh?" Rin wondered out loud. Len devoured a slice of banana bread and turned to her before nodding and swallowing. "Yeah, but my pen name is just "L. Kagamine." It would be embarrassing as hell if they knew a guy was writing all those poems."
"It's alright, sweetie, you look like a woman anyway." The girl joked. Len punched her side playfully. Rin punched back. Suddenly, Len grabbed one of the slices of banana bread he had ordered a while ago and threw it at her as he stood up. Rin then grabbed a chunk of the bread as well and pulled Len by the collar. Taking advantage of the situation, she dumped the bread in his shirt.
"Jesus!" Len yelped and yanked the bottom of his shirt to let the bread fall on the floor. Rin laughed light-heartedly.
"Hey! You two!" A masculine voice called from the sidelines. Rin squeaked and froze. It was the manager...Oh crap. "Ms. Kagami, I need to have a word with you." The manager then proceeded to drag Rin towards the kitchen, leaving Len with the mess he and Rin had created. He watched Rin as she stuck her tongue out. Len did the same. It was really nice to be immature sometimes.
~(+)~
Rin stared at the cafe's entrance as she stood behind the counter. Talking to Len was really fun and she would always find herself waiting for him. It wasn't that she actually had feelings for the poet; it was just that...she had grown attached to him. She found herself blushing. She grunted and buried her face in her hands. Suddenly, the bell rang and she sprung up. Much to her delight, it was Len...except he was with someone, and someone handsome at that. Plus, she couldn't help but notice the annoyed look on Len's face.
"Uwaah, this looks awesome!" The azure-haired man cooed as his blue eyes darted around the room with excitement. Len rubbed his temples. It wasn't his decision Kaito had decided to tag along either. He walked towards his usual table and plopped down on his usual chair while Kaito took the one across him. A familiar waitress appeared from the behind the counter with an unsettling smile on her face.
"Heya, midget!" Rin giggled. Len pouted at the name. Other than 'shota,' he hated being called a midget. Yeah, he admitted he was short, but it added to the cute points, right? "Says you."
"If a girl is short, it's considered cute...If she's tall, she can become a model. Both are good points, but if a guy is short...tsk...tsk..." Rin tsked playfully.
"Wow, thank you for the oh-so important information. I shall now use them to make a rocket." Len said sarcastically. Kaito was now snickering at the two blondes' banter. "I have to agree with her, Lenny."
"Oh...hello there~!" Rin greeted Kaito. The taller man did the same with his "I-can-charm-every-girl-in-town," million dollar smile. Len stared at the two for a while as Kaito ordered for some treats, and suddenly, Len's eyes widened. There was something...something awfully familiar between Kaito and Rin...sparks...SPARKS FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! Shiny sparks that could out-sparkle those vamps from Twilight. Len tried to relax himself a bit...but, who cares if there were sparks between them?
"So, you'll have a Soy Latte, three slices of banana bread, a chocolate and espresso frappe and a brownie." The duo of boys nodded as Rin walked off to the counter and then the kitchen. Kaito smiled and turned to Len.
"She's nice!"
"Yeah, yeah, go marry her already." Len mumbled as he stared down at his blank notepad. He then paused for a bit and slowly looked up to see Kaito's slightly startled, 'What-The-Fuck-Did-You-Just-Say-You-Son-Of-A-Femal e-Dog" face.
"Err...I mean, yeah, she is." Len said as he began to write down some ideas for his next poem. A few minutes later, Kaito stood up and gave Len money to pay for his part of the bill, oblivious to the dangerous aura surrounding his literally little friend. Len didn't spare him a glance as the he left the practically empty cafe with a shit-eating grin on his face. As the blonde scribbled on the notepad, Rin approached his table.
"He's cute~ is he the guy you drew on that notepad when we first talked?" She asked. Like Kaito, Len didn't dare to look up at Rin and simply answered.
"Yep."
"Tell me, is he single?" Rin asked again.
"Yep."
"He's so bubbly and happy, unlike a certain someone." Rin commented, trying to catch Len's attention, but alas, no avail.
"Yep." Rin's smile faded from her face, but her body remained completely still.
"Len, what's a bear that's black, white and Asian?"
"Yep." Rin smirked at his last reply. She slammed her hands on his table, causing Len to mess up his writing and causing his coffee to spill a bit, but luckily, there was a saucer that caught the not-so-hot-anymore liquid in a flash. "Are you jeeeaalous?"
Len choked on his spit and frantically looked at Rin. "Heck no, I wouldn't even care if you married that guy and had 30 babies together."
"Tsundere, Rin-chan! He's a Tsundere!" Miku called from the kitchen which was followed by a chain of giggles. Len blushed a bit at Miku's supposedly secret piece of advice. He wasn't a tsundere, jeez. A guy? Tsundere? HA! That might be possible...Len stuffed the last piece of banana bread (which was, in fact, still whole) into his mouth.
"Awright, I'm done, hersche the money, bye bye!" Len slammed his and Kaito's money on the table and stomped out of the cafe, leaving a baffled Rin and a sobbing Miku in the cafe.
"This would have been a good shoujo manga moment~!" Miku bawled in the kitchen.
~(+)~
"S-Sorry about last time..." Len bashfully said as he stood in front of the cafe's counter. Rin stared at him, wide-eyed.
"It's cool. But I gotta admit, you look really cute when you're jealou-"
"LA LA LA, I CAN'T HEAR YOU!"
~(+)~
"Er...hey..."
"This is awkward..." Len said as he stood in front of a magazine shop that doubled as a flower shop, the new edition of VocaGalz in his grasp. Rin stood beside him, holding the same magazine. It was quite awkward for them to meet outside of the cafe. Len was just there to check how his latest poem was doing. He wasn't really used to seeing Rin in her casual clothes, which consisted of a striped, orange and white hoodie, a denim skirt that reached an inch above her knees and brown boots. He had to admit, it looked nice on her.
"Just when I decided to read your poems too..." Rin started, laughing nervously as she flipped to next page of her magazine. Len shot up and turned bright red, remembering what he had submitted the last time. He dropped his magazine and scampered towards Rin to grab the magazine from her.
"Hey!"
"Don't read it!" Len shrieked, catching the attention of many passers-by. Rin gripped the magazine tightly and fought back. "I wanna read it!"
"No! It's embarrassing!" Len protested, but he lost the fight when Rin kicked him in the gut. While he was down, she skimmed the pages for Len's poem. She smiled once she caught sight of a poem that was submitted by "L. Kagamine" Her smile quickly faded as she read on.
In the coffee shop,
Beside my table,
She would always stop
And a chat, she'd enable.
She smiles so brightly,
They make my day.
I can't take this lightly,
These feelings want to stay.
I can't keep it in forever,
I need to set them free.
This isn't really a fever,
So please go out with me.
An awkward silence surrounded the blondes as Rin grasped the magazine with wide eyes and a paralyzed body. Len had a massive blush spread across his face as his hands gripped the magazine as well. Neither of them were pulling it away from each other. They just stood there awkwardly. Rin's arms slowly began to move and she set down the magazine and then she turned to Len. It was a miracle she could last that long without blinking. Len on the other hand was embarrassed about two things.
1. The first poem Rin had read from his collection was the poem he made specifically for her.
2. Since only Rin, Kaito and his co-workers knew that writer of that poem was a guy, those who don't know possibly think the writer is a lesbian.
"Um...so yeah...I'll, um, just go die in a hole..." Len said as he let go of the magazine and motioned to walk away but a hand grabbed his wrist, stopping him. He turned around to see Rin, staring at him. Her hand was trembling.
"Uh...I guess we could go out...now..." Len gawked at her. Was she...accepting his confession? Len put up a small, embarrassed smile and stood up straight.
"L-Lead the way, then!"
~(END)~
A/N: Ahahaha~! If you're reading this, you either read the whole thing (kudos to you, here's a virtual...Popsicle...)or you skipped to the end because the story sucked (*bows* I'm sorry...) I'm not really a good poet, so please pardon the...attempted poetry above.