A/N: iPod Shuffle Challenge: First Installment aka "The Scrapbook"
Pairing: Takuya x Izumi
Song: Jonas Brothers - Hollywood
(that's where I got the name of this story, bc in reality this story doesnt have anything to do with hollywood. its part of the rules of the challenge lol)
this story is something i did for myself..i made up the rules of the iPod Shuffle Challenge so if some parts sound like crap ignore it because i probably BS'd that part of the story so i could concentrate on something more important. just an fyi.
"You can try to break us, and make us fall apart, but the fires in our hearts reminisce on memories because we're gone."
The Jonas Brothers - Hollywood
The Scrapbook Prologue
"Finally done!" Izumi flattened out the last strip of Scotch tape across the brown-paper-bag colored package and stood up to admire her fabulous work. She had had breakfast, taken a shower (along with the primping that comes with it), and the rays of morning sunlight were peeking through her translucent window curtains. Feeling fresh and accomplished, she scooped the package up in her arms and left her bedroom.
"Frick, better not forget my beanie." she returned to the room and retrieved her signature purple beanie, her favorite headgear. It was in surprisingly good shape despite having it for over five years. Hopefully, wearing it would add to the nostalgic effect that she was going for when Takuya took a look at the scrapbook. She closed the door softly and used her socks as an accelerator to slide down the hall toward the staircase.
"Mom? Mom! I'm going out!" she called as she flew down the stairs. Her denim blue messenger bag bumped irritatingly on the backs of her bare legs.
"Okay, hun," her mother poked her head out of the master bedroom and Izumi slipped into her dark-brown clogs. "By the way…" Izumi slid the door open. "…would you mind picking up some vegetables for me on your way home?"
"Sure thing, Mom. Bye!" Izumi darted through the front door and whipped it closed. Cradling the package in one hand and adjusting the beanie with the other, she skipped down the porch steps two at a time. The front door reopened with a creak behind her and Izumi looked back.
"Silly girl, what's the big rush? You didn't even hear what vegetables I wanted! And you didn't get the money to buy them!" Ms. Orimoto put her hand on her hip and wagged a finger.
After slapping her forehead in a 'Duh!' moment, Izumi gently placed the package on the bottom step and sprinted for the kitchen. As she charged past her mother, she overheard her muttering something about self-absorbed teenagers. Psh. Clomp, clomp went her shoes against the wooden floor. She grabbed the money off the kitchen table, threw it haphazardly into her bag, and ran back to her very confused mother.
"'K, what do I need to get?" she said. She jogged in place, looking down at her mother expectantly.
Mrs. Orimoto scratched her head. "Is there something that you're late for? I don't understand the big hurry."
"I'm not late, I'm just excited. It's Takuya's birthday today and since he isn't having an official party, I'm bringing him his present now." She said, grinning excitedly.
"Ahh, I see. Is it August already? Well, all right then, you have fun. But more importantly, be safe…and don't do anything you wouldn't want me to find out about." Mrs. Orimoto warned.
"Of course, Mom." Izumi nodded obediently. "By the way, I think we're out of onions. What else do we need?"
"Just tomatoes and onions, then." Ms. Orimoto shuffled to Izumi in her fluffy bedroom slippers to give her a good-bye kiss. Izumi had to bend down for her 4-inches-shorter mother to reach her, for she resembled her dad, who was Italian, more than her mom, who is Japanese.
"'K bye, Mom. Ti voglio bene."
"Love you too." Ms. Orimoto shut the door and once again, Izumi flew down the porch steps, picked the package up, and ran out onto the Orimoto's expansive, but beautiful front yard. Actually, it was more of a garden, for it was filled with so many different types of flowers that even Izumi couldn't name them all. As she ran, she was careful to stay on the concrete path that ran straight through the garden and not trip and fall into the two small in-ground ponds that ran parallel to it. She reached the end of the path, opened the wooden gate, and slipped through it, closing and locking it behind her.
Izumi swiftly passed through the streets of the suburban neighborhood. Takuya's house was only a five minute walk from hers', since her mother had given her the generous option of picking the neighborhood that she liked best from a list of seven potentials after her parents had divorced three years ago. Of course she had picked the one in walking distance from her friends without a second thought, a decision that she was absolutely loving right now. Izumi hadn't told Takuya she was coming, so even if Takuya was not home it wasn't like she had wasted a huge chunk of time getting there. Or money. Tokyo bus prices were ridiculous.
Just another corner……aaaand……there. Izumi slowed to a stop as she came up to the Kanbara home. It was a shut wooden gate identical to hers and the only distinguishing factor was a freshly-scrubbed gold plate drilled into the stone fence with KANBARA engraved onto it, just like the other ones in the neighborhood. Underneath it, the names of all family members were engraved in a smaller font: Mr. and Mrs. Kanbara, Takuya Kanbara, Saruchi Kanbara, and Shinya Kanbara. Izumi tried opening the gate, wrapping her fingers around the sturdy wooden rod. She tugged and, as expected, it slid open easily, revealing a traditional Japanese house. Izumi shut the gate behind her and began to walk to the front door. The Kanbara yard was not as elaborate as the Orimoto's; there was a gray cobblestone walkway, there was a tree, there was a tire swing, and typically, there was a stray soccer ball as well, half-buried in the earth, forgotten by the front steps. All in all, it was a simple but functional environment.
Izumi's eyes glazed over all of it as she quickly crossed the yard, took the porch steps two at a time, then rang the doorbell. When nobody came after two minutes, Izumi pressed the doorbell again. Takuya better be home.
Ti voglio bene - I love you (platonic)