Hooks

I.

The flower shop was closed, but the cooler lights still cast an eerie glow onto the dark sidewalk. Yamato chained his bike to a post and squinted at the storefront, looking for movement inside. Seeing nothing, he dashed across the empty street and peered inside for a better look.

Autumn flower arrangements stood in neat rows across the marble countertops. The sturdy wooden shelves held a variety of decorative vases and smaller potted plants. Even from outside, Yamato could hear the faint hum of the coolers when pressing his ear to the glass. A large fern hung down from the ceiling above the front counter, which was considerably messy compared to the rest of the small shop - notebooks, books, an empty cash drawer, unfinished arrangements, and a great deal of dirt obscured the light marble of the countertop.

Taking a deep breath, Yamato knocked loudly against the glass pane of the door.

Nothing happened.

Yamato knocked again.

This time, a silhouette of a woman appeared, framed by the door of the back office. Yamato waved her over and let out a sigh of relief that created a foggy circle on the glass. A line of irritation appeared on Sora's face as she fussed with the locks on the door of the shop. A bell chimed overhead after she pulled the door open to allow Yamato entry.

"Hi," Yamato said.

"Hi," Sora replied. "What are you doing here?"

Yamato realized with a start that he didn't have an answer to this question. "Ummm… well the show just ended, and I thought I'd check and see if you were headed to Taichi's party or not. Or something," he finished, feeling embarrassed. He ran a hand through his windblown blonde locks, in a futile attempt to make them lay flat.

Sora sighed, eyeing the mess on front counter. "Like I told you, I can't go out tonight." She circled around behind the counter and began reshelving some of the books. "My mom needed me to close the shop, and…" She trailed off. "And I'm not really interested in going to another one of Taichi's raging parties right now."

Yamato chuckled. "Yeah, I understand. I'm surprised he let you off that easy; he practically had me in a headlock getting me to promise to show up after the show."

Sora turned her back to Yamato to retrieve a roll of paper towels from a cupboard. Still not facing him, she said again, "Why are you here, Yamato?"

Yamato fidgeted with the strap of his guitar case. He felt insecure answering her question truthfully. Taichi and Sora had broken up almost a month ago after a short and clearly unreciprocated courtship initiated by Taichi. Even though Taichi was still reeling from the effects of Sora ending the relationship, it was clear as day to Yamato that Sora didn't want to be in that relationship (or any relationship, for that matter). She had thrown herself into her studies, the tennis team (and her role as team captain), and working at the flower shop. She still maintained and cherished her close friendships - even sustaining her friendship with Taichi, somehow - but she rarely was seen at parties or other social events now. She had changed.

And as much as he didn't want to admit it, Yamato felt he had changed, too. Having his two closest friends break up was awkward, but negotiating it was rather easy. Taichi was a gregarious personality. Even when hurt, he bore his soul to Yamato. Taichi had a reputation at school for being genial and animated, and the break-up hadn't destroyed that - in fact, it seemed to Yamato that Taichi had doubled down on going to gigs, soccer matches, and throwing raucous parties for his friends at school. Yamato felt closer to Taichi more than ever, but often at the expense of his tenuous friendship with Sora.

In the past month, Yamato had only biked home from school with Sora twice (once an almost daily event), and they rarely shared more than a few words at lunch or after school... until she had sought him out about returning the ticket he had given her earlier. He was disappointed that Sora wasn't able to come to his band's concert, but even more disappointed when she gave him the demure excuse that her mother was out of town and she had to close the flower shop instead that evening. In retrospect, he had let his disappointment show clearly, strumming on his guitar absentmindedly, glibly accepting her apology, and shutting down the conversation prematurely - until she had said it.

Thinking about the exchange made Yamato anxious. She had looked just as anxious as he had felt in that moment. It had been one of the first times that they had spoken in private after the break-up. Until now, thought Yamato, when I decided to barge into the flower shop without a plan. Maybe I'm the one responsible for this distance. I've created a barrier of self-preservation.

"I wanted to know what you meant when you said…" Yamato thought back to the encounter again, trying to recall her parting words exactly.

Sora interrupted him. "I think you know what I meant," she said quietly. She leaned against the cooler behind the front counter, crossing her arms but not meeting Yamato's eye.

"No, I really don't," Yamato insisted, sucking in his breath as a hangnail caught onto the strap of his guitar case. He unstrapped the guitar and gingerly rested it against the counter. "When you said, 'it was always you,' did you mean that I'm responsible for everything? You breaking up with Taichi? You changing, somehow?"

Sora didn't answer. Many of the shops across the street had closed for the evening, making the night even darker. Even though they stood apart from each other in a darkened room, Yamato could see her jaw clench against his words.

"How am I responsible?" Yamato asked again, trying to make his question sound less demanding.

"You're not responsible in the slightest," Sora responded, her voice still unnaturally quiet. "I'm not mad at you, or Taichi, or anybody... really I'm not."

"Tell me what's going on, then. Why can't you-"

"Because I'm trying to avoid you."

Sora's declaration made the air in the room feel much colder to Yamato. "So your coping mechanism is… avoiding one of your best friends," he scoffed.

Sora finally looked up at Yamato, and nodded. Yamato opened his mouth to speak, and stopped.

'It's always been you.' Sora's words rang through his head again, this time with a new meaning.

Sora was in the business of self-preservation, too, thought Yamato. She was avoiding me because… she had feelings for me, and not Taichi?

This new conclusion sent shockwaves of emotion down Yamato's spine.

If Sora did have feelings for me like I have for her… well, that's the best possible outcome I could hope for, right?

And you'd be betraying Taichi in the process if you acted on these feelings.

He'll get over it. Maybe…

Sora's been avoiding you because even if she likes you, she doesn't want to be in a relationship with you.

The inner conflict was becoming unbearable. Yamato walked up to the front counter, now cleared of flowerpots and papers but still quite covered in dirt. "As your friend," he started, softly, "I can't let you keep avoiding me."

Sora uncrossed her arms and took a small step back, pressing herself against the wall of the cooler. "That's not your decision to make."

"Yeah, I'd say that it is, at least partly my decision."

Sora looked away from him. "Please just... leave me alone," she muttered. "I'll talk to you about this some other ti-"

She stuttered, watching in horror as Yamato planted his hands on the countertop, vaulting his legs up and over and meeting her in the narrow space behind the counter. His hands and legs were black with soil for the effort, but he grinned widely. He stepped up to Sora, blocking her movements by placing his hands on the cooler on either side of her. Even though her facial expression was still one of complete shock, he had never seen her look so beautiful. The blue glow of the cooler's lamps made her bright auburn hair look almost violet. Her mouth hung slightly open - probably a reaction to his gymnastic performance. Her perfectly heart-shaped lips were the same sandy pink color as her pale freckles in this light.

Yamato inhaled deeply, realizing he was standing in the place where the scent he had always associated with Sora originated from. He had always just characterized her scent as "outdoorsy." But now he smelled the brightness of gardenias and jasmine along with the richness of fresh soil and cut wood in her hair, on her neckline, and even in her sweat.

"What are you doing?" she hissed.

His smile faded slightly as he composed himself, though he did not release her from his blockade. "It's always been you, too," he murmured.

Her eyes grew wide. "Yamato, you can't expect-"

She stopped mid-sentence again as Yamato brought his thumb up to her cheek.

"Sorry, you had a bit of dirt." Yamato smiled. He didn't retract his hand, because Sora's hand had moved to cover his own. Her eyes bore into his own, waiting for him to react as her hand lightly touched the skin on his own.

He felt as if his body moved agonizingly slowly as he slowly drew closer to Sora. Her hand clasped his more tightly. Still pressed against the cooler, Sora raised her head slightly to allow Yamato to close the small gap between their lips.

Yamato had been kissed before. Contact had always been initiated by the girl (two out of the three instances, a drunk fan of the band at a party). While exciting, he had always felt rather embarrassed afterward for some reason. He had tried to date one of the girls he had kissed at a party, but found her to be more enamored by his small-time celebrity than interested in getting to know him as a person. The relationship had ended as quickly as it had started.

Now, with his hand tangled in her unnaturally glowing hair, was not the time to think back on past experiences, although he couldn't help but try to draw some sort of comparison. But when Sora's tongue slid across his lower lip, he realized there was nothing to compare to this.

Sora had reacted slowly, painfully, to his kiss. She allowed him to set the rhythm and tone of it, until she didn't - her hands snaked up his back to draw him in closer until his body was pressed against hers. She gasped at first when he slid his tongue into her mouth, but quickly responded with vigor, intensifying the kiss and causing Yamato growl slightly.

His other arm had wrapped around her waist, and in their struggle to be closer to each other her shirt had ridden up slightly. Yamato's fingers found the exposed skin and raced across it, eventually sliding his thumb into her belt loop to keep her from escaping. Not that he thought she would - she had spread her legs slightly to maintain her balance, but also to wrap her left leg tightly around his, preventing him from escape as well.

Yamato began to think that he might die if the kiss ended. He was sharing his breath, his livelihood, with Sora - if they broke off, where would his breath go? She kissed him deeply, and with her entire body, and he responded with more passion than he had ever mustered for anything in his life. His tongue found hers again, and upon contact she elicited a small moan.

Yamato had felt like he was in control of his body until that moment. After Sora moaned deeply again in response, he knew he was doing a very poor job of concealing his lust for her. To his surprise, her hips moved first - she pulled Yamato into a tighter embrace, deepening the kiss.

Suddenly, the glass door rattled like thunder in the quiet shop. Yamato leapt backwards, hitting his elbow painfully on the countertop. Sora stumbled forward, but quickly regained her balance, straightening her shirt in the process, equally startled by the sudden loud noise.

Yamato turned to the door. Three teenagers were standing with their faces pressed to the glass, grinning and making faces. They were dressed as if they were going to a club later - hopefully not Taichi's party, Yamato thought, becoming momentarily worried, though he didn't recognize them from school. They rapped loudly on the door again and one wolf-whistled loudly.

Sora turned to face the back of the store, her cheeks growing red. Yamato strode down the aisle and waved them away with a few well-placed obscenities, and after a few moments the gaggle grew bored and continued down the street.

Yamato looked at Sora and smiled. "Umm…"

Sora smiled back, though he knew his best friend well enough by that point to see the deep worry in her expression.

"Do you want to go get some coffee?" Yamato asked, feeling rather stupid for suggesting it. His phone buzzed wildly in his pocket. Happy for the distraction, he pulled it out and his stomach turned when he saw the notification.

Saturday 9:01 PM

WHERE R U

"It's Taichi, isn't it?" Sora said absently.

"Yeah," Yamato stammered. The room felt eerily cold again. "I was supposed to be at his party an hour ago," he added upon noticing the time.

"You should go, then," Sora asserted. "Please."

"Yeah," Yamato agreed, feeling rather ill at the thought of encountering Taichi after what had just happened. Taichi would most likely be quite drunk and consequently emotional at this point in the evening. He shot off a quick reply to Taichi and then pocketed his phone. "We should talk… soon."

"Yeah, we will," Sora agreed. "I won't avoid you, I promise." Her tone made it seem like she was trying to crack a joke, but her face looked miserable.

Yamato nodded, suddenly feeling miserable as well. "Good," he said. "I'll… I'll see you later then."

"Here," Sora said, suddenly become animated. "I need to unlock the door again." She walked quickly to the front of the store. Yamato watched as her trembling fingers turned the latches in the old door. He picked up his guitar and strapped it on his back, exiting as Sora pulled the door open for him.

"Thanks," Yamato said, stepping outside. It had gotten much colder since he arrived. His breath made small clouds in the night sky. "'Bye, Sora." He tried to impart as much meaning into his farewell as he could muster, looking her straight in the eye. But she did not return his gaze.

"Goodbye, Yamato," she replied, giving him a small wave and closing the door.

Yamato crossed the street and unlocked his bike. Taichi's party was in a different neighborhood, at least a half-hour away by bike. His teeth chattered as he set off down the empty street. After a moment, his phone buzzed in his pocket and he yanked it out violently, nearly colliding with another biker who swore at him loudly.

Seeing that his notifications were just from Taichi (again) and one of his bandmates, Aoto, who was likely at the party as well, Yamato put his phone away without reading the messages. Even though she said they would talk later, Yamato felt that Sora was already strategizing how to avoid the conversation. Avoid him. She knew as well as I that what we did was a mistake.

Yamato was incredibly grumpy by the time he reached the party, which was audible from down the street. He knocked at the door of the house, hoping that the noise would be muffled by the thump of the stereo system and the many attendees' loud conversations, but the door swung open almost immediately and Yamato found himself face-to-face with Taichi.

Taichi roared upon seeing Yamato and pulled him into a bear hug. "HE'S HERE, AOTO!" he shouted across the room, pulling him inside.

"What took you so long?" A handsome man with deep brown eyes and a gaunt face tinged with stubble waded through the crowd to address Yamato.

"I… went for coffee," Yamato said quickly, hoping that Taichi and Aoto were too drunk to see through his unconvincing response.

"Coffee?!" Taichi snorted, pushing his friends through a group of dancing couples to the kitchen. "Yeah, I believe it."

"Looks like you've been gardening," Aoto cracked, wiping dirt off of Yamato's sleeve.

"Whatever, you're here now," Taichi said warmly, offering Yamato a beer from the fridge.

"Yeah," Yamato said dully. "Here I am."

Posted without much context, I know, but I might expand this into a longer story at some point. This would probably part of a chapter somewhere in the middle of that. Please let me know how I can improve. Thanks for reading!

-c.c.