Are You Up For the Challenge?
Chapter Two
Author's Note: Uhm, well, it's not as long as I hoped for, and I've come to realize that I actually need to add more characters in this story. Just not in this chapter. I need to check with Ruth first D:. WELL, anyway, enjoy!
Note: In case you haven't caught the other note in the first chapter, the girl's name is changed from Akira to Akaira. Not a huge huge difference, but still worth mentioning.
Warning: OOC, and some rambling going on. Awkward-ness, and… weird shizz thrown in there for good luck wink wink.
"What the hell do you mean you can't do it?" The boss shrieked. "You're my best, hardworking employee!" The woman's shoulders slouched.
"Ah… thanks, but… I'm sorry. It's been…" Shizuo tried to find the right words to say. "…tough." Was all he could settle for. It was lame, but really, at the moment he didn't give a damn. "Hear me out!" He hastily added as his boss shook her head disapprovingly. "If you let me take that afternoon off, I'll make sure to work on one of my actual off days. Please? Sound good?"
She gave it some thought. He really was a nice kid, she thought idly.
She sighed. "No need. Take the day off, you don't need to work on one of your vacation days."
The boss lady silenced him by raising a hand. "No. I understand."
"Really? You do? Ah, thanks so much boss!" She shoved his face away when he tried to squeeze—er, hug—her to death.
"Yeah, yeah. I know what it's like to be a teenager. I was one once, you know."
'Bet that was a while ago,' He thought. He knew better than to say it out loud.
The woman continued. "I know what it's like to want to skip work to go on lovey-dovey dates."
"H-hey, what? It's nothing about that! It's just been… tough." Shizuo said again.
"Whatever. Just pick up your slack when you get back, Blondie."
Where in the hell was he going? Why did he think he could actually pull this off? On the inside, he's a nerdy, shy teenager compared to the out. Well, okay, he was, even on the outside, but that's beside the point. He's so freaking sure he'd screw this up, it's so not funny.
…Well kinda.
A little.
Okay, he could do this. Breathe in, breathe out.
…
Idiot!
Shizuo opens the door to his apartment and goes into his room. He takes off his clothes, folds them, sits them in the hamper to wash later, and goes to pick out some "cooler" clothes from the closet.
He came back with the coolest thing he could find—a pair of black, tight pants (no girl can resist these), and a white, to-the-skin shirt (grab a box of tissues, ladies). He thought about grabbing his shaded sun glasses or whatever, but decided not to. No need to overdo it, right? …but he wouldn't look like Shizuo without them…?
Sigh.
Of course not.
He'd look hawt(er)!
Taking a last look at himself in the full figure mirror, he returned in front of the front door to grab his shoes. They were a bit muddy from whatever that was he stepped in on his way here, and he didn't want to ruin the rug he put down.
"Okay. Off to humiliate myself." He says and walks out of the door.
Sip. Mmm. Sip.
This is too, way too long to be "observing." Again, for the past week and a half, he's been there. He's surely familiarized by now, so what's the problem…? I'll tell you what the problem is.
"Make him go away," Izaya says to Akaira when he sees "him" coming over to their table.
"Why? He's harmless. Won't kill you." She responds.
"I don't want him coming over here!" He shouts in a whisper. "Oh crap, now he's here," He says when he just a few feet to them. "Great."
"Shut up. It won't kill you to be nice and have a conversation."
"It might." Izaya mumbles into his cocoa.
"Shizuo! What're you doing here?"
"Actually," the blonde haired man started, "I came to steal you away for lunch. Will you allow that?"
"Ahem." The dark haired boy cleared his throat loudly, to get their attention.
Shizuo sat across from them, next to Akira. "Oh. He's here. I wasn't asking you Izaya, and I hope that won't influence your decision, Akaira." He glares at Izaya, who easily takes it.
"Oh it won't. Lunch sounds great, Shizuo!" She smiles. "Sorry, Izaya, for today's break, I'll go out with Shizuo-chan here."
"'Chan'?"
"Yes." They get up to leave.
"I don't like the sound of that, Akaira." Izaya quickly says before they leave the table. Akaira took off her apron and shop's shirt off. She was wearing a blue, short sleeve shirt underneath, and a white skirt.
"I know you don't." She said, and put the stuff in the back room and got her bag. "Try to not kill yourself without me here. Be back later boss!" And she bounced off with Shizuo, his rival.
Shizuo. He didn't like the glance he gave him before they were out the door.
He doesn't know what it is about that woman. Is it her flowing, curly, chocolate-brown hair, or is it the curvaceous, thin body she has? Maybe it was her strength and voice power despite the delicate features she has been blessed with, including the electric blue eyes that captivate him talking with her more times than not. Girls, and maybe even humans in general, but especially girls, will always be a mystery to him.
Now, the question is, what should he do about it?
Izaya gets up to leave.
"Don't worry about him. He's just in a sour mood." Akaira tells him. "So what do you have in mind?"
"Well," Shizuo starts, "I was thinking we could go to that little breakfast-lunch place down the street and around the corner from here. What do you think?"
"Mmm, yummy. Sounds like a plan." Shizuo smiles to himself.
This was going pretty well so far. He said he'd mess up and stuff, but was very happy that he didn't tumble over his words, and especially didn't jitter or get angry with Orihara when he saw him sitting with Akaira.
They walked on and talked about nothing in particular, and they both enjoyed a good laugh.
"I am starving. I didn't eat at the shop up the street because I'm sick of the food now." She said when they sat down at the table. They sat facing each other.
"I know what you mean," He said, "So that's why I thought it'd be fun to chill elsewhere, for once, away from that… freak."
"Hey! Izzy-chan's not a freak," Akaira said, glaring at him. "He's just… 'misunderstood.'
The blonde one snorted. "'Izzy-chan'? 'Misunderstood'? Please. Akaira, he is a freak."
Before she could say anything, the waitress came to their table.
"Hello, I'm Kandie, and I'll be serving you this afternoon. How about some drinks?" She told them about their deals on drinks.
"I would like iced tea please." The brunette said.
"Small, medium, large?"
Akaira looked over at Shizuo. He gestured with his hand to just choose whatever she'd like. "Large!" She sing-songed.
"And you sir?"
"Large green apple drink, please."
"Okay, I'll get those right away and be back to take your lunch orders!" Kandie bounced away to get their drinks.
"I hope a large's not too much, but I really wanted it." Akaira said to Shizuo when the waitress was out of earshot.
"I'm treating you, so you just order whatever you want!"
He was so smooth.
He's foolish to think he'd screw up. Pfft. What could go wrong?
Haha. Now, you know that once you ask the, oh my God, the question, "What could go wrong?" something's bound to happen. Typical. Simple.
So, just for the record, Shizuo was not sweating bullets right now, and he was absolutely, positively not drying off Akaira's lap and table space.
"I am so sorry," said Kandie. "I'll get you another drink right away!"
"I'm really, really sorry," Shizuo said as he dried the table. "I—"
"It wasn't your fault, Shizzy. She should have been more careful, and I should have caught it."
"No, no…" Once the table was dry, the waitress came back with the iced tea.
"It's fine," Akaira said again. "Let's just enjoy our lunch. I'll have a double cheeseburger."
"I'll take the same."
"Be back in a jiff!"
'I know what I'll do…' He walked down the street with his hands in his pockets. He didn't stop for the other pedestrians on the sidewalk. One butch man growled. He kept on.
'But it's harder than it sounds…' He thought. He wasn't used to any of this, after all. How does one just… execute this…"plan of action," we'll call it?
Izaya looked up for a moment and saw a small store. He decided to just get something at home to eat.
QwQ
"How does one express… 'like,' or even 'love'?" Izaya said to himself as he walked in to his apartment. "I should watch television," because television gives you all of the answers.
"This is going to be perfect, oh yes I know so."
Izaya prepared the reservations.
"This ice-cream is so good." She licked it some more. "Vanilla is my favorite."
"Yeah." He paid for the ice-cream and they walked off, somehow ending up a little too far from the job to even get to the ice cream. He's been in a slightly sour mood since he thought he saw Izaya walking down the street from the window. Plotting? He doesn't know. He doesn't want to find out the hard way. He just wants to enjoy his date.
…okay, it's not a date, just a "casual lunch," but who's labeling things.
He treats it like a date, because this is the longest he's been on any kind of outing with a lady outside of school trips. Yup. Maybe this'll mean he has a chance at getting laid.
He notices Akaira look at her phone. 'Oh no. Don't let it be so!' he thinks.
"Oh damn! I have to get back to work, Shizzu. Thanks so much for the lunch and stuff! I think I should run," She said and turned around, heading back the way they came. "See you later, Blondie!"
Shizuo smiled and walked home.
"Wait, so… you… don't wanna do dinner?"
"Shut up," Akaira said, wiping off the counter. "I didn't say that. I want to. Yup. I could use a nice meal, ya know."
"Great." He relaxed a bit more. "I'll see you at seven at night. So, I'll take a coke." His heart thumped in his chest.
'Why—why are you doing that?' He closed his jacket up, thinking that somehow it would stop it from falling onto the counter top. 'Obey me. Cut it out already!'
Author's Note: I'm going to end here before I make it worse. So… what'cha think about this? It's going to be a little bit off schedule, but… I'll see what I can manage. I want to speed through this, because I, unfortunately, have this huge urge to start another fic. I-I… Okay, I won't start it now. I have a duty, and my duty is to finish these fics. Until next time~!