'Another ludicrous holiday, fantastic, now I get to deal with masses of flowers, be handed chocolates, which I personally cannot stand the taste of. And those cards! Awful, pitiful, desperate, loathsome pickup lines. Who ever writes those should die.' Light chuckled at the irony of the Valentine's Day card authors dying of severe heart attacks. Closing his locker Light rolled his eyes, "Here we go…"
Light sat down in his first period, the only thing that made this bearable was Ryuzaki, at least he could give the chocolate to him, Light smirked, 'The kids like a dumpster for sweets.' As assumed, girls handed Light their admirations and Ryuzaki sat next to him, "Light-kun should consider at least saying thank you. I wouldn't mind receiving so many tokens of affections."
Light rolled his eyes, "Hey, Ryuzaki. Want any chocolate I get today?" Ryuzaki stared at Light wide eyed, "Heh, of course you do."
"Being very best friends with Light-kun has its benefits." Ryuzaki snatched a small box of chocolate Light handed him.
You might be wondering how me, the perfect student, adored by all, could come to call this oddity my best friend, it's simple, really… He's my only rival when it comes to grades. So, if you can't beat them, join them. When Ryuzaki first arrived at our school, half way through the year… He looked lost to say the least, but turns out, Beyond, a sophomore in my school is his half brother.
Mad genius must run in the mother's side. The kid is crazy smart. He's a troublemaker though. Catching the chemistry lab on fire, on purpose. Setting off fire alarms with elaborately built traps, obviously on purpose.
Ryuzaki was here for exactly three days before I even noticed him, looking back on it, I feel a little guilty, because my first encounter with him I knocked him over. Well, that's not entirely true, I bumped into him, he fell and lunged a retaliation kick, I ended up on the floor as well. Confused more than hurt.
It didn't take long before noticing the brilliant mind behind that scruffy, over sized, head of hair. Like I said, must run in the family. But Ryuzaki was different, he speaks formally, sits oddly, eats entirely only sweets… A love for sweets must run in the family as well… I digress.
Ryuzaki came in the middle of our junior year, he's been here about a year now, and too be honest, I wish he would have come sooner. It's nice being able to talk to someone, knowing full that he already has a snappy come-back to my sarcasm.
Fingers were snapping in front of Light's face, he blinked a couple of times and shook his head slightly. "Light-kun was doing it again…" Light smiled softly watching Ryuzaki hold the chocolates in between his thumb and index finger, analyzing them fully before popping them in his mouth playfully. "Where does Light go when he zones out like that?"
Light smiled, "Just day dreaming."
Ryuzaki leaned in, "About what?"
Light crinkled his nose, "When you'll die of diabetes."
Ryuzaki smirked, "Maybe Light-kun shouldn't feed into my addiction then, giving me chocolates like a doting boyfriend, taking sweets from the lunch line, that, he knows full well, he isn't going to eat."
Light scoffed and folded his arms, "It would be rude to waste the chocolates. And all you eat is sweets, the cafeteria will never let you get away with taking too much, so I have to at least make sure you're not hungry."
Ryuzaki smiled at Light's defensive behavior, "Does Light-kun think, I do not eat at home?"
Light rolled his eyes and dropped another box of chocolates on Ryuzaki's book, "Shut up."
"Class! As you all obviously know, today is Valentine's Day! So I've designed a special lesson in mind!" A chorus of groans was heard. "Now, now. This isn't about the holiday, but what happened on this fateful day!"
The teacher popped in a video of the St. Valentine's Day Massacre. She sat herself and texted on her phone, not even trying to hide it. Light rolled his eyes and chuckled at Ryuzaki tossing the chocolates into the air and catching them with his mouth.
The bells chimed for the end of class, as expected when Light returned to his locker it had bouquets of roses or carnations in front of, stacks of chocolates and more unoriginal cards. "Just once, if someone was going to express something like that to me, at least be original about it." Light tossed the boxes and bouquets into his locker and handed the top box to Ryuzaki, who greedily took it from him.
"Does Light not enjoy the holiday?"
Light stopped and thought about it, "A Hallmark holiday? Where everyone runs around in a grand conspiracy to fall in love only to have their hearts broken in a month? I can't stand it. Maybe because, it's so unoriginal, here's some flowers that supposedly mean I love you, here let me give you this candy that's supposedly an aphrodisiac. It's all about money, Ryuzaki. I just don't buy into it."
Ryuzaki shrugged, "Well…" He popped the box open and grabbed a chocolate out, "As long as Light is subject to his good looks and charm, I get sweets, for free, I might add. His stone heart makes him mysterious, so more candy is given. It's a win-win for me."
Light raised an eyebrow as they stopped at Ryuzaki's locker, "Stone heart?"
Ryuzaki handed him the box and exchanged books, "Yes, Light-kun has a stone heart, doesn't even consider the possibility that, the one he could be in love with, doesn't have a poetic soul, therefore, making them unoriginal and boring to him."
Light smiled, "I do not. I'm just content in my loneliness. If they can't catch my attention, whose to say they'd hold it?"
"Like my brother has?" Light rolled his eyes to see Beyond leaning on the lockers behind them, "Face it, Ken-doll. The only one you're ever seen talking to or hanging out with is Ryu. My poor unsuspecting brother!" He gasped dramatically, "Don't break his heart, Light… Or I'll break your nose."
Ryuzaki blinked a couple of times in confusion, placing his right thumb to his lower lip, "Oh?"
Light sighed, "No. Because he's the only one intelligent enough to be considered for conversation, making him a natural choice as a companion. What's this about breaking my nose?! What the hell, Beyond?!"
Beyond rolled his eyes, "You fret about your appearance like a girl, only talk to and hang out with the most eccentric of your grade, seriously? You don't see it, yikes, you my friend, are in denial." He placed his hand on Light's shoulder then snatched a chocolate from Ryuzaki and walked off waving to the duo.
Ryuzaki chuckled, "He's a troubled one."
Light chuckled and walked next to Ryuzaki to their next class, "I'd say so."
They sat down to their next class, which seemed to drone on. Light doodled in his notebook bored, 'Why aren't I attracted to anyone? There are plenty of pretty girls who seem to like me… What did he mean by denial? Of what?' Light's eyes widened at the previous exchange and without realizing it, snapped his pencil. 'Those little punks!' He sighed and looked at his pencil sadly.
Ryuzaki handed him a pen from what seemed from the inside of his hair, along with a note, 'What ground breaking revelations has Light-kun made? He only ever breaks his pencil when he's figured something out that disturbs him.'
Light smirked and glanced at Ryuzaki who was watching him with curious eyes. He wrote down, 'Just figuring out just how much of a mental menace your brother truly is.' He handed the note back to Ryuzaki.
Ryuzaki seemed to smile at it, 'Welcome to my world.' Light smiled at the note. There was something admirable about Ryuzaki's hand writing, though, he himself did next to nothing to outwardly change his appearance to be more appealing, his handwriting said it all. Smooth cursive lines, almost like a script text from a computer, every letter in its place. Every letter clear but whimsical lines somewhat connecting each word as if his pen never left the page.
In their forensics class they took as an elective, the teacher had said, "Individuals with this particular writing style are generally, committed and loyal individuals."
Light smiled and watched it begin to snow. Then smirked when he felt a nudge on his elbow, he glanced down to the note, 'I'm getting more chocolate, not that you care, but I'd let Light-kun know I'm going through his locker.'
Light rolled his eyes and nodded, 'Like that's stopped you before?'
'Yes, but last time he was upset with me, for not telling him.' Ryuzaki smirked and excused himself to go on a sweets run, it really is no wonder he hasn't keeled over from lack of sleep or a sugar overdose.
Before long, but longer than it normally took, Ryuzaki took his seat. Light rolled his eyes when Ryuzaki gave him a thumbs up.
The bells chimed once again and they exited the classroom, they walked back to their lockers, Ryuzaki throwing away the finished box of chocolates. "I think it would be most unpleasant to be a janitor this time of year, think how many times they have to change the garbage liners."
Light rolled his eyes and they stopped at his locker, he opened it to see a single blue rose, with a note wrapped around it's thorny stem, "What the?"
Ryuzaki leaned over, "That was not here when I arrived. Has Light-kun given his locker combination to someone else? The betrayal!" Ryuzaki smirked in his faux outburst.
Light smirked at him, "Oh stop." He gently lifted the rose and pulled the note off of it.
Ryuzaki sighed and took another box, "I would imagine a flower of that color would be expensive this time of year."
Light uncurled the note and read over it, 'Admiration is but a word, it couldn't measure how I feel in the depth of my ever-beating heart.' Light raised an eyebrow and continued to read,
'My little flower why do you weep in your perfect existence?
Did you finally relies the corruption at the ties?
My silly sorrowful flower I weep with you, for your perfectly misguided existence.
Why did you choose to bloom in such wretched soil?
My little flower why do you weep?
Why do you search for corruption when all is well it seems.
Silly little flower all you will find is a heart full of ache.
So I too will cry as your final bloom ends with your perfectly misguided existence.
My little flower I know for whom you weep, As my tears are returned to me.
Silly little flower, why do you weep for me?'
Light blinked several times at the poem, "That was oddly dark…"
He continued to read, 'Like the blue rose, my feelings are of the unattainable, the impossible, though my love is true, we could never be. Happy Valentine's Day.' Light's breath hitched slightly, 'Who..?'
Ryuzaki leaned over to read over Light's shoulder but had the note yanked from his view. "Am I not allowed to see?" Ryuzaki stuck out his lower lip, but watched as Light carefully curled the note back around the thorny stem. "Does Light-kun like this flower more than the others?"
Light smiled softly, "I do. I think, because it's so mysterious, dark, yet... Enchanting."
Ryuzaki nodded slowly, "Maybe Light-kun should find a way to address this person?"
Light sighed, "Except they never left any kind of indication of who they are."
Ryuzaki tapped his lip a couple of times, "So, you'll just let this be a mystery?"
Light smirked, "Oh, hell no. I'll analyze it more when I have the time. For now, school." Light sighed and shut his locker, admiring the rose once more.
Coming to the close of the school day, Light had become more and more impatient with the clock, determined to solve the mystery of the blue rose. The bells chimed and like always Light walked next to Ryuzaki, stopping at his locker first to grab his bag. "Light-kun, it's Friday. We could launch a full scale investigation on this culprit."
Light smiled at him, "Is that your way of asking if I want to spend the night, so you can sate your own curiosity?"
Ryuzaki sighed, "No. I'm asking if you want to investigate this locker culprit, if it took longer than a day then, yes, I suppose, I would be asking you to come over." Light smirked, his smile quickly faded with the arrival of more chocolates and more flowers. Ryuzaki bent over and picked up all the chocolates, "You'll have to carry your own flowers. I'm commandeering the chocolates."
Light chuckled, "It's alright, Sayu loves flowers, I'll just give them to her."
Ryuzaki raised an eyebrow, "Even the blue one?"
Light smiled softly as he opened his locker, "No. I'm going to be greedy this year, that one is mine." Light shoved all the chocolate boxes into Ryuzaki's arms and gathered all the flowers. Light chuckled at the sight of Ryuzaki attempting to eat the chocolates and carry all of them at the same time. "I'm going to drop the flowers off at home and let mom know I'm spending the night. I need to get my overnight stuff anyway." He waved at Ryuzaki and walked in the direction of his house.
Ryuzaki smiled at Beyond who took half the chocolates from him to help him carry them home, "Light is coming over to spend the night?"
Ryuzaki narrowed his eyes, "Do you always listen in on other people's conversations? If you spent half the time on your studies as you did on your mischievousness you'd be an academic all-star."
Beyond rolled his eyes, "Yeah, yeah… So, I'll also assume you want me to lay of the pranks on Prince Charming?"
Ryuzaki rolled his eyes, "It would be nice."
A knock was heard at the door, Light winced at the loud thumping coming towards the door, the door flew open and Light was face to face, forehead to forehead with Beyond, who laughed at his shocked expression, "Hey Light, come on in." He backed up and let him through shutting the door behind them.
"Thanks, Beyond, where's Ryuzaki?"
Beyond smiled, "Upstairs, to the left, third door."
Light smiled at Beyond who was dipping chocolates into strawberry jam while watching TV. Light walked up the stairs and knocked on the door hesitantly, 'Knowing that little twerp it's a trick.' The door opened and Ryuzaki blinked at him a couple times, "Oh, Light-kun."
"I texted you but you never answered." Ryuzaki stepped aside, letting him in the room.
"Did you bring the evidence?"
Light laughed, "The note anyway. I left the flower at home."
Ryuzaki frowned slightly, "Ah, I see… Where?"
Light raised an eyebrow, "In a small vase in my windowsill, why?"
Ryuzaki shrugged, "No reason. Let's see the note!" Light pulled the note from his bag and handed it to Ryuzaki. "Hmm. It seems this person doesn't normally write in printed font."
Light smirked and sat himself on Ryuzaki's bed, "They also know me quite intimately."
Ryuzaki gave him a quizzical stare, "Hmm?"
Light tilted his head slightly and smiled warmheartedly, "They've either been talking to Sayu, or have access to my journal… Given the fact, that I'm fairly certain, my journal is next to impossible to find, someone has been talking to Sayu… The line, "'My little flower I know for whom you weep, As my tears are returned to me. Silly little flower, why do you weep for me?'" Light cleared his throat, "This wasn't a confession of feelings, rather, a confirmation. Maybe it was just on a hunch, but, there's only one source of emotional anguish for me. But, they themselves said it was impossible, so they still aren't sure if the notion was accurately portrayed."
Ryuzaki chewed on his thumb staring at the note, "Someone causes you emotional anguish?"
Light sighed and rummaged through his bag, handing Ryuzaki a small bag of cookies, "Sayu sends her regards."
Light folded his arms and smirked at Ryuzaki. Who greedily snatched the bag and opened it, "Your sister makes the best cookies."
"And a great information mole." Light handed Ryuzaki a different blue rose, "Did you honestly think I wouldn't put it together?"
Ryuzaki took the flower in between his index finger and thumb and studied the petals of the flower, "I had at least hoped it would take you longer than a day… But if you knew…" He glanced up to look at Light.
Light smiled and Ryuzaki dropped himself next to Light, "Yes. I figured it out in my last period. I've only ever told Sayu about my feelings, Sayu and Beyond are basically inseparable at school, and well… He's your brother. He was right."
"I KNEW IT!" Both Ryuzaki and Light stared at the door, "Shit!" More loud thumping was heard running from the door and down the stairs.
Both boys started laughing. Light smiled softly, then leaned in and kissed Ryuzaki's cheek. Ryuzaki blushed slightly, "What now?"
Light rolled his eyes and gently pushed Ryuzaki over, "I think this is when normal couples kiss."
Ryuzaki stared at Light and smiled one of his famous tiny smiles, "I suppose."
Light leaned over and ran his fingers along Ryuzaki's jawline, then placed a soft kiss on his lips. Ryuzaki hugged Light tightly pulling him down on him, "Happy Hallmark Day."
Light smiled softly and hugged Ryuzaki, "Yeah, Happy Massacre Day."
They both laughed quietly bringing their lips back together softly.
Poem: Copyright © 2015 Abby Petrie
