Ice Cream to Share
Chpt. 2
Love Within the Rain
---
Miki sat at her desk staring at the tiny piece of paper that she had salvaged from her pocket. The voice of the strange man rang throughout her head: "Well, here's my number: 123-456-7890. Call me when ever. I'd really like to go out sometime. You seem nice. Not to mention super cute!" He was so nice to her, even if it was only for a couple hours. Yet, they had some pretty awesome connections. She had to admit, she was falling for this stranger. This Taka.
"Maybe, just maybe, he really meant what he said...." Miki said to herself. She ran her finger along the numbers on the paper. All she had to do was press a few buttons, and poof, there he'd be, on the other line. Taka reminded her strongly of Yuu, but that relationship was over. Gone. Over. Never to come back.
Miki got up and walked over to her phone. She stared at it blankly. Not knowing what to do, she picked up the receiver. Her finger moved slowly among the many buttons. She was still, and hard to believe, frightened. Not of being talked to, but of being rejected. Again. She slowly pressed each number. Slowly coming in reach of her newest hope. The phone rang.
A familiar voice rang in the receiver after a few moments. It was soothing and soft. "Hello?"
"Uhhh... hello, is Taka there?" Miki was unsure of herself. Like she was when she was with Yuu.
"And who would this be?"
"Miki Koishikawa." Every single word that was spoken was tense. This made Miki feel highly numb and nervous.
"Oh, wassup babe?!" the voice suddenly went high and cheerful. Miki's tenseness was lifted. She smiled to herself. She felt happy again, as she was last night.
"Taka? Is that you?"
"Yep! I'm really happy that you called. I thought you wouldn't because I'm such a dork and you're like a super model." He seemed content with his negative attitude about himself.
"You think I'm a super model? Me?" Miki walked over to her bed and sat down. She leaned her head on her pillow, like she would have done with a good friend. She laughed at his flattery.
"Yeah, it's not that hard to think you're a babe. I mean look at you. Totally flaming!"
"Heh, I wish."
"Yeah, me too." He mocked teasingly.
Miki scoffed. He was already charming her out of her wits. She loved the way he respected her, not to mention his looks, humor, and smarts.
"Awww, don't be mad. I'm nuts over you. I wouldn't call you a babe if I hated you!"
Miki smiled to herself. She felt like she was talking to a friend she had known for ages. "Okay."
"That's more like it. So, watcha up to today?"
Miki thought to herself. She had that lunch date with Meiko. She totally forgot. But somewhere in her mind, she wanted desperately to make room for Taka. "Umm... lunch date with one of my friends."
"Oh. Sounds fun," There was a slight tone of disappointment in his voice. He was silent for a couple seconds.
Miki couldn't stand the silence. She wanted to talk. To speak to Taka. She never felt this way with Ginta, so why was she feeling it now? Why? Of course, she never really phoned Ginta before, so there wasn't much to say on that matter.
"Well, I work part time at the Rooney Diner, maybe you could have lunch there. I work today."
Miki thought. It sounded nice, and she would be able to see Taka again. Maybe Meiko would like to go there too. "I guess, but I'll have to check with my friend."
She heard Taka celebrate in the background. She smiled to herself again. Never had she smiled so much in one day. Maybe he was her second chance.
"Okay, I'm gonna call my friend. See ya later!" Miki said into the receiver.
"Bye." Taka said, followed by the click of him hanging up. Miki held the phone to her head. She didn't want to say good-bye just yet, but she put down the phone any way. She called Meiko, and left for the diner.
---
The diner was full of people. Children were shuffling all over the place and mothers ran after them. The diner was extremely clean and flowers were draped all over. It smelled of delicious food and the fragrant of the flowers. Miki and Meiko stood at the door, waiting to be seated. Miki glanced around for Taka, and sure enough, he came. His hair was untidy, and his apron was dirty. But his green eyes were still sparkly. He was wearing tight jeans and Miki couldn't resist looking at his butt. Meiko giggled. Miki started at how cute he was. Astonished, Meiko looked at Miki. Taka ran over to Miki and grabbed her hand. She was shocked, but happy.
"Hey, Miki. Glad to see that you could make it. You must be her friend." Taka said, pushing his hair out of his face and looking at Meiko.
Meiko smiled. "Yes, I'm Meiko Akizuki. You must be Taka."
Taka nodded and smiled. Miki loved his smile. He led them over to an empty table with four seats then walked away to get orders. Miki was examining the tea cups with little pink and blue flowers. Then she began staring at Taka in the corner of her eyes. Meiko smiled at her.
"Miki, you seemed very interested with this Taka." Meiko took some napkins and handed them to Miki.
"Thank you. Uhh... yeah." Miki blushed and looked down at the floor.
"He seems nice enough. I think you two would make a cute couple."
Miki looked up at Meiko. "You think so?"
"Yes. He so handsome. It's funny that you met him in the mall though." Meiko giggled.
"Yeah. I think it was some bizarre coincidence." Miki said.
"No, I think its destiny."
Miki looked at Meiko and then slipped her glance towards Taka. Maybe it was destiny. Who really knows? He saw her looking and posed some odd posses. He showed off his muscles (which weren't even there) and widely smiled. Miki laughed. Meiko sat quietly, observing the way the two were acting. They'd make a really cute couple, she thought. Taka walked over to their table and took their orders. It turned out that Miki ordered the extra-large hamburger and Meiko the medium salad.
After eating, Miki and Meiko separated. Meiko had to go home to finish her current novel and also cook dinner for when Namura came home. Miki was left with nothing to do. Nothing at all. She decided to stay with Taka at the diner until he finished his shift. Luckily, there was only forty-five minutes of waiting for her to accomplish. After he finished his shift, the two went to get some ice cream.
"I don't understand. Why didn't we just eat at the diner?" Miki asked softly.
"Well, you get tired after eating at the same place day after day. You know what I mean?" he muttered and grinned at her.
Miki returned his grin by looking at the floor. He put his hand on her shoulder and whispered in her ear: "I'm sorry." She gazed up at him and smiled. He always made her smile.
After a while, Miki noticed that Taka still had his hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him (he's a couple inches taller than her) and blushed. Taka peered down at her.
"Is there something bothering you, Miki?" He asked, not removing his arm.
"It's just that your arm is still on my shoulder." Her cheeks tinged to cherry red.
Taka took his arm off her shoulder immediately. He didn't even slightly glance down at her afterwards. Throughout the walk, he seemed to be thinking, or bothered. He didn't talk as much as he would have, and it bothered Miki. It reminded her of the time when she was on her last walk with Yuu. She had to say something.
"Look, if I offended you in any way, Taka, I'm really sorry. I'm just not used to any touching right now."
He stopped walking. Miki stopped shortly after him. His face was blank and empty. Then, he burst into a series of laughter. He bent this way and that. His hand was clutching his abdomen. Miki became furious.
"Why are you laughing?!" she shouted.
"You thought I was offended?"
"Well, y-yes." Miki said. Her head ached.
"Oh. Well, I'm fine. I understand that you're not ready for touching of any sort, but you were fine with it at the mall. I just assumed that you would be okay with it now." He stood next to her. What was going on in his head? He was always thinking of something odd when she thought he was sad or angered.
"Well, you looked offended." She stammered.
"Oh." That was all he had to say? "Oh"? Miki was shocked.
He reached for Miki's face, cupped his hand and rubbed her cheeks with his thumb. Taka looked deep into her brown eyes, as if he was trying to tell her something. She couldn't decode it, but he was definitely telling something. Miki looked deep into his eyes. Taka started to lean forward. His hands moved from her cheeks to her waist. To Miki's surprise, her body was moving involuntarily towards him. Their lips met, and they kissed. They stood in the street kissing for several moments. She laced her hands around her neck and embraced him. His lips separated from hers and he held her. It started raining. Miki could feel the tiny prickles of the rain, but she didn't care, she was in love again. It astonished her that she had only known him for two days, but still, she loved him.
Taka held her body next to his. Her warmness overjoyed him. Here he was, with an attractive girl, who was hugging him. He was in heaven. This was all he wanted. He felt the sharp stabs of the hard rain, but he needn't care. He knew Miki felt the same way he felt by the way she kissed him. So soft and gentle. He backed off from their embrace. Miki frowned.
"I'm s-so sorry," she said.
Taka smiled and leaned to whisper in her ear. She stood straining to listen to what he wanted to say. "I finally found out today, that I love you. If you think it's too soon, I understand. Give me a sign, any sign."
Miki tore away from him. The rain pelted her skin. He too, was soaking in his own clothes, but he sustained a smile. It was soft and quiet. She couldn't help but smile back. Taka held his arms out. She fell into them and rest her head against his wet chest. The rain drenched them both as they stood together, hugging. He finally knew that she loved him too...
---
The next day, Miki found herself with a high fever. She called Taka and discovered that he had the same illness. She spent her sick days in her bed, looking for apartments for rent. A couple weeks before she met Taka, she had been offered a job as a designer for a top clothes brand. Miki sketched what had come up to her when she was bored. Three or four times a day, Chiyako, Jin, Rumi, or Youji would come up to her room and served her meals (which was often soup). She was quite content with her life right now, despite her illness.
Then one day, Yuu phoned home.
"Hey Miki," he spoke into the receiver. "I heard that you were sick, so I called."
Miki only listened to what he said. She never spoke. She was too hurt.
"Okay. I know that you're not so happy right now, but why are you so quite?"
What he said ignited a flame of fury within her. He couldn't know if she was happy or not! He just couldn't! "HOW WOULD YOU KNOW IF I'M UNHAPPY?! HOW WOULD YOU KNOW IF I'M HAPPY EITHER?! YOU'RE JUST A A-ASS!"
Yuu didn't speak. Miki was sweating and she was out of breath. He caused her the biggest pain in her life, yet he still had the nerve to call. Miki was disgusted.
He heaved out a long breath and spoke quietly. "Miki,"
Miki shook her head violently. Her grip on the receiver grew tighter. "No Yuu! Don't you dare say another word! You have no idea how I feel right now!"
"Listen, I just called to see if you were okay. Not to talk about what happened between us. That was a long time ago, so just shut up about it."
This guy had some nerve. "You tell me to shut up, but you have no idea how sad I was. I was miserable. Perfectly miserable. I don't want to hear you talk to me like I have no feelings. I hate it."
Yuu drew a long breath. "Okay, please hear me out. That was a long time ago. Two years to be exact. Just get over it. Okay?"
"No." She was frustrated. How could he just call and tell her to "get over it?" He was being a jerk, he was being stupid.
"Fine." Miki heard the click of Yuu's receiver. He was gone. Miki slowly hung up the phone. She alone in her room...
---
AN: This chapter upset me a little bit. I don't know why....
Chpt. 2
Love Within the Rain
---
Miki sat at her desk staring at the tiny piece of paper that she had salvaged from her pocket. The voice of the strange man rang throughout her head: "Well, here's my number: 123-456-7890. Call me when ever. I'd really like to go out sometime. You seem nice. Not to mention super cute!" He was so nice to her, even if it was only for a couple hours. Yet, they had some pretty awesome connections. She had to admit, she was falling for this stranger. This Taka.
"Maybe, just maybe, he really meant what he said...." Miki said to herself. She ran her finger along the numbers on the paper. All she had to do was press a few buttons, and poof, there he'd be, on the other line. Taka reminded her strongly of Yuu, but that relationship was over. Gone. Over. Never to come back.
Miki got up and walked over to her phone. She stared at it blankly. Not knowing what to do, she picked up the receiver. Her finger moved slowly among the many buttons. She was still, and hard to believe, frightened. Not of being talked to, but of being rejected. Again. She slowly pressed each number. Slowly coming in reach of her newest hope. The phone rang.
A familiar voice rang in the receiver after a few moments. It was soothing and soft. "Hello?"
"Uhhh... hello, is Taka there?" Miki was unsure of herself. Like she was when she was with Yuu.
"And who would this be?"
"Miki Koishikawa." Every single word that was spoken was tense. This made Miki feel highly numb and nervous.
"Oh, wassup babe?!" the voice suddenly went high and cheerful. Miki's tenseness was lifted. She smiled to herself. She felt happy again, as she was last night.
"Taka? Is that you?"
"Yep! I'm really happy that you called. I thought you wouldn't because I'm such a dork and you're like a super model." He seemed content with his negative attitude about himself.
"You think I'm a super model? Me?" Miki walked over to her bed and sat down. She leaned her head on her pillow, like she would have done with a good friend. She laughed at his flattery.
"Yeah, it's not that hard to think you're a babe. I mean look at you. Totally flaming!"
"Heh, I wish."
"Yeah, me too." He mocked teasingly.
Miki scoffed. He was already charming her out of her wits. She loved the way he respected her, not to mention his looks, humor, and smarts.
"Awww, don't be mad. I'm nuts over you. I wouldn't call you a babe if I hated you!"
Miki smiled to herself. She felt like she was talking to a friend she had known for ages. "Okay."
"That's more like it. So, watcha up to today?"
Miki thought to herself. She had that lunch date with Meiko. She totally forgot. But somewhere in her mind, she wanted desperately to make room for Taka. "Umm... lunch date with one of my friends."
"Oh. Sounds fun," There was a slight tone of disappointment in his voice. He was silent for a couple seconds.
Miki couldn't stand the silence. She wanted to talk. To speak to Taka. She never felt this way with Ginta, so why was she feeling it now? Why? Of course, she never really phoned Ginta before, so there wasn't much to say on that matter.
"Well, I work part time at the Rooney Diner, maybe you could have lunch there. I work today."
Miki thought. It sounded nice, and she would be able to see Taka again. Maybe Meiko would like to go there too. "I guess, but I'll have to check with my friend."
She heard Taka celebrate in the background. She smiled to herself again. Never had she smiled so much in one day. Maybe he was her second chance.
"Okay, I'm gonna call my friend. See ya later!" Miki said into the receiver.
"Bye." Taka said, followed by the click of him hanging up. Miki held the phone to her head. She didn't want to say good-bye just yet, but she put down the phone any way. She called Meiko, and left for the diner.
---
The diner was full of people. Children were shuffling all over the place and mothers ran after them. The diner was extremely clean and flowers were draped all over. It smelled of delicious food and the fragrant of the flowers. Miki and Meiko stood at the door, waiting to be seated. Miki glanced around for Taka, and sure enough, he came. His hair was untidy, and his apron was dirty. But his green eyes were still sparkly. He was wearing tight jeans and Miki couldn't resist looking at his butt. Meiko giggled. Miki started at how cute he was. Astonished, Meiko looked at Miki. Taka ran over to Miki and grabbed her hand. She was shocked, but happy.
"Hey, Miki. Glad to see that you could make it. You must be her friend." Taka said, pushing his hair out of his face and looking at Meiko.
Meiko smiled. "Yes, I'm Meiko Akizuki. You must be Taka."
Taka nodded and smiled. Miki loved his smile. He led them over to an empty table with four seats then walked away to get orders. Miki was examining the tea cups with little pink and blue flowers. Then she began staring at Taka in the corner of her eyes. Meiko smiled at her.
"Miki, you seemed very interested with this Taka." Meiko took some napkins and handed them to Miki.
"Thank you. Uhh... yeah." Miki blushed and looked down at the floor.
"He seems nice enough. I think you two would make a cute couple."
Miki looked up at Meiko. "You think so?"
"Yes. He so handsome. It's funny that you met him in the mall though." Meiko giggled.
"Yeah. I think it was some bizarre coincidence." Miki said.
"No, I think its destiny."
Miki looked at Meiko and then slipped her glance towards Taka. Maybe it was destiny. Who really knows? He saw her looking and posed some odd posses. He showed off his muscles (which weren't even there) and widely smiled. Miki laughed. Meiko sat quietly, observing the way the two were acting. They'd make a really cute couple, she thought. Taka walked over to their table and took their orders. It turned out that Miki ordered the extra-large hamburger and Meiko the medium salad.
After eating, Miki and Meiko separated. Meiko had to go home to finish her current novel and also cook dinner for when Namura came home. Miki was left with nothing to do. Nothing at all. She decided to stay with Taka at the diner until he finished his shift. Luckily, there was only forty-five minutes of waiting for her to accomplish. After he finished his shift, the two went to get some ice cream.
"I don't understand. Why didn't we just eat at the diner?" Miki asked softly.
"Well, you get tired after eating at the same place day after day. You know what I mean?" he muttered and grinned at her.
Miki returned his grin by looking at the floor. He put his hand on her shoulder and whispered in her ear: "I'm sorry." She gazed up at him and smiled. He always made her smile.
After a while, Miki noticed that Taka still had his hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him (he's a couple inches taller than her) and blushed. Taka peered down at her.
"Is there something bothering you, Miki?" He asked, not removing his arm.
"It's just that your arm is still on my shoulder." Her cheeks tinged to cherry red.
Taka took his arm off her shoulder immediately. He didn't even slightly glance down at her afterwards. Throughout the walk, he seemed to be thinking, or bothered. He didn't talk as much as he would have, and it bothered Miki. It reminded her of the time when she was on her last walk with Yuu. She had to say something.
"Look, if I offended you in any way, Taka, I'm really sorry. I'm just not used to any touching right now."
He stopped walking. Miki stopped shortly after him. His face was blank and empty. Then, he burst into a series of laughter. He bent this way and that. His hand was clutching his abdomen. Miki became furious.
"Why are you laughing?!" she shouted.
"You thought I was offended?"
"Well, y-yes." Miki said. Her head ached.
"Oh. Well, I'm fine. I understand that you're not ready for touching of any sort, but you were fine with it at the mall. I just assumed that you would be okay with it now." He stood next to her. What was going on in his head? He was always thinking of something odd when she thought he was sad or angered.
"Well, you looked offended." She stammered.
"Oh." That was all he had to say? "Oh"? Miki was shocked.
He reached for Miki's face, cupped his hand and rubbed her cheeks with his thumb. Taka looked deep into her brown eyes, as if he was trying to tell her something. She couldn't decode it, but he was definitely telling something. Miki looked deep into his eyes. Taka started to lean forward. His hands moved from her cheeks to her waist. To Miki's surprise, her body was moving involuntarily towards him. Their lips met, and they kissed. They stood in the street kissing for several moments. She laced her hands around her neck and embraced him. His lips separated from hers and he held her. It started raining. Miki could feel the tiny prickles of the rain, but she didn't care, she was in love again. It astonished her that she had only known him for two days, but still, she loved him.
Taka held her body next to his. Her warmness overjoyed him. Here he was, with an attractive girl, who was hugging him. He was in heaven. This was all he wanted. He felt the sharp stabs of the hard rain, but he needn't care. He knew Miki felt the same way he felt by the way she kissed him. So soft and gentle. He backed off from their embrace. Miki frowned.
"I'm s-so sorry," she said.
Taka smiled and leaned to whisper in her ear. She stood straining to listen to what he wanted to say. "I finally found out today, that I love you. If you think it's too soon, I understand. Give me a sign, any sign."
Miki tore away from him. The rain pelted her skin. He too, was soaking in his own clothes, but he sustained a smile. It was soft and quiet. She couldn't help but smile back. Taka held his arms out. She fell into them and rest her head against his wet chest. The rain drenched them both as they stood together, hugging. He finally knew that she loved him too...
---
The next day, Miki found herself with a high fever. She called Taka and discovered that he had the same illness. She spent her sick days in her bed, looking for apartments for rent. A couple weeks before she met Taka, she had been offered a job as a designer for a top clothes brand. Miki sketched what had come up to her when she was bored. Three or four times a day, Chiyako, Jin, Rumi, or Youji would come up to her room and served her meals (which was often soup). She was quite content with her life right now, despite her illness.
Then one day, Yuu phoned home.
"Hey Miki," he spoke into the receiver. "I heard that you were sick, so I called."
Miki only listened to what he said. She never spoke. She was too hurt.
"Okay. I know that you're not so happy right now, but why are you so quite?"
What he said ignited a flame of fury within her. He couldn't know if she was happy or not! He just couldn't! "HOW WOULD YOU KNOW IF I'M UNHAPPY?! HOW WOULD YOU KNOW IF I'M HAPPY EITHER?! YOU'RE JUST A A-ASS!"
Yuu didn't speak. Miki was sweating and she was out of breath. He caused her the biggest pain in her life, yet he still had the nerve to call. Miki was disgusted.
He heaved out a long breath and spoke quietly. "Miki,"
Miki shook her head violently. Her grip on the receiver grew tighter. "No Yuu! Don't you dare say another word! You have no idea how I feel right now!"
"Listen, I just called to see if you were okay. Not to talk about what happened between us. That was a long time ago, so just shut up about it."
This guy had some nerve. "You tell me to shut up, but you have no idea how sad I was. I was miserable. Perfectly miserable. I don't want to hear you talk to me like I have no feelings. I hate it."
Yuu drew a long breath. "Okay, please hear me out. That was a long time ago. Two years to be exact. Just get over it. Okay?"
"No." She was frustrated. How could he just call and tell her to "get over it?" He was being a jerk, he was being stupid.
"Fine." Miki heard the click of Yuu's receiver. He was gone. Miki slowly hung up the phone. She alone in her room...
---
AN: This chapter upset me a little bit. I don't know why....