He sighs, stepping into the train, working overtime is really taking it's toll on him.
He finds a seat opposite an old couple and a girl reading a book he doesn't pay much attention to, quickly checking his watch, knowing he'll be killed if he's late for dinner with his large group of friends.
7:30 PM
He has some more time left before he's officially late and Ino and Sakura berate him for being late and 'ruining' the gathering.
He pulls out his phone, texting the group that he'll be late and silently preparing himself for the onslaught of texts from Ino and Sakura.
But it doesn't come and for a while, it's both a shock and a relief to him.
His eyes roam the train, the old couple, the boys in the corner, the family by the window, the somewhat old woman talking on her phone, the group of girls whispering amongst themselves.
The girl.
And maybe he usually doesn't notice girls but this one in particular reminds him of a cherry blossom tree.
Not Sakura.
Dark brown hair, like the curling branches of the trees she looks like so much, pulled into a messy bun that makes her look perfectly imperfect, light green eyes, like the grass that shoots beneath the tree's feet, darting across the pages of the book she looks so engrossed in, cheeks pink like the petals that gracefully float down, and he wonders what's going on in that book of hers that's making her so confused with her furrowed brows and why is it so horrible that it's making her bite her lip so hard he's afraid it might bleed.
She lets out a hiccup and hurriedly reaches for her water bottle, her eyes never leaving the book as she flips the page and takes a gulp, eyes wide as she reads the page, letting out a squeak at some point, attracting minor attention before she almost sinks into her seat from the eyes that watch her though she never seems to notice him and it annoys him.
He toys with the notion that maybe he's like one of those ghosts and that's why she can't see him.
But it hits him that she's actually more interested in her book than she is in him, in anyone really, and that last bit comforts him some.
He wants to ask for her name but something keeps his mouth shut, keeps him rooted to his seat, keeps him quiet, keeps him curious.
Keeps him annoyed.
Keeps him staring at the girl, whose book is so much more interesting than he could ever be.
He'll call her Blossom, until he can find a name for the troublesome girl that makes him want to touch her just to see if she's really real.
Surely someone that perfect can't exist right?
But Blossom isn't perfect.
She's perfectly imperfect.
There's a difference.
So what is she?
Where does she come from?
What's her favorite color?
What does her smile look like?
What does her voice sound like?
What about her laugh?
And what about her tears?
He involuntarily shudders.
The image popping into mind doesn't sit well with him at all.
"We have reached Konoha Downtown Station, we will be departing for the Hokage Tower within five minutes."
Well, that's his cue, he gets up and accidentally bumps into Blossom, who lets out a vulgar curse word too horrifying to be repeated here.
"Oh, sorry," she laughs, looking up at him. "I wasn't looking where I was going."
"No, it's my fault," he shakes his head.
Mesmerized by her voice within seconds of hearing it, he feels bad for the males she makes contact with on a daily basis.
But he knows, not everyone will see her the way he does.
And he pities those people.
The people who won't appreciate her laugh that he knows he probably won't ever hear again, the people who won't appreciate her smile and her voice and her eyes and her personality that he doesn't know yet.
The people who will take her for granted.
The people who won't care until it's too late.
He gets to see her smile before they part ways.
And as he walks to the diner where the little gathering will be held, he distantly wonders if he'll ever see her again.
`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`
Inspired by a little Tumblr post I read.
