Chiharu's Birthday Mayhem
By: pnaixrose
Disclaimer: Don't sue cuz I don't own.
Tuesday, May 25...7 DAYS LEFT
Chiharu walked down a quiet road in silence, carrying her bag in one hand. It was a little past three o'clock and school had just ended. She was heading towards her home, just a few blocks away from the school, but decided to take a little detour since she realized her parents wouldn't be there yet. She hated staying home alone. The house seemed too empty for her. She took a left at a corner when she was supposed to take a right and headed towards the Tomoeda shopping district, not even bothering to drop by at home to change from her black mid-thigh skirt, a white cotton blouse, and her black shoes – her school uniform. It didn't matter. Many students came to the shopping district right after school anyway.
Chiharu sighed, a slight hint of sadness apparent. Usually Yamazaki would come and walk her to her house everyday while telling her the latest stories that were on his mind. But today, she had barely seen him at all, even at lunch. It even seemed like he was avoiding her. Only last week, they had spent a lot of time with each other, at school and after school. One day, Yamazaki had mentioned that since both of their parents weren't home, they should visit all the parks in Tomoeda. He had wanted to see if they could visit the many parks that their little town was known for all in one day. Chiharu had laughed at his idea. It was simply insane! But due to Yamazaki's insisting, she had given up protesting and they had ran from park to park in various areas of their town right after school. They were laughing on the way as people looked at them in wonder and confusion. Chiharu blushed as she remembered when Yamazaki had gotten so excited when there was one more park to go and had taken her hand and ran, laughing all the way. They were hard to separate ever since kindergarten, so why did he seem to avoid her now?
Widening her eyes in realization, she noticed that Sunday, the day when her parents had invited him to dinner, was when he seemed to grow apart from her. She remembered how he had placed his hand on top of hers during dinner unconsciously. She remembered the way he had looked longingly at her when he was just leaving, staring at her with a very small smile on his lips. That day was weird...he hadn't really told any stories. Yesterday, right after lunch, had been weirder...and more nerve-wrecking. Her hopes that Yamazaki would confess his love for her had been cut short.
Chiharu stopped in front of one particular store that she, Sakura, Tomoyo, Rika, and Naoko often went in together. It was called Twin Bells, and it belonged to their friend Maki. She smiled as her eyes scanned the new, various kinds of stuffed animals through the glass window. She loved them! They were just so cute, huggable, and such great companions although it may sound pretty silly. But a thought made her blush. The real, secret reason she loved stuffed animals was because that was the first thing Yamazaki had given her. They were at the innocent age of five at the time and the Miharas and the Yamazakis had gone on a trip together by the shore for a festival going on there. As they had walked passed the game booths while their parents had gone off to the souvenir booths, Chiharu had spotted a cute little monkey animal toy with big cheeks and a silly grin on its face. It had been the 'Toss the Ring' booth where you had to throw at least one ring onto the item that you wanted. Chiharu had tried the game, but after a couple of tries, she gave up almost spending all her money. She had lost all times! Water had started to form in the young girl's eyes when suddenly her companion jumped to the rescue, using his money to get some rings for a try. He aimed just right and – POOF! He had gotten the toy and gave it to her.
Chiharu stood there reminiscing with a smile on her face. The image of Yamazaki always seemed to pop into her mind somehow no matter where she went now. Even looking inside a store brought the thought of Yamazaki to her head. If only he were here with her now, that would make her day. Today when she had asked him about walking home together he had stammered something about having to meet up with a friend, leaving Chiharu feeling down. 'Oh well,' she thought with a sigh. 'I have to find him a birthday present anyway and he can't be here when I go shopping for it. It has to be something sentimental, like Li-kun had said. It has to be something so special and so romantic that Yamazaki-kun, although dense at times, will have to know my feelings when he receives it!' She started racking her brain for any ideas for the present. Maybe she'd find something here.
Then out of nowhere she felt something weigh down on her shoulders and felt arms gently wrap around her neck, waking her from her daydream. She widened her eyes as she saw who it was by staring into Twin Bell's glass windows. There was a reflection of her looking quite shocked and Yamazaki behind her with his arms wrapped loosely around her neck and hanging off her shoulders. He had a silly grin on as usual as he too stared at the reflection.
"My dear Chiharu-chan, you didn't even notice me come up?" he asked leaning forward so that their faces were right next to each other's. He kept his gaze straight on the glass's reflection instead of turning to her.
Chiharu was stunned as she stood there stiffly, feeling her heart flutter and start pounding like crazy. Just feeling him near was bad enough, but he was touching her. He was leaning on to her with his face right next to hers that she could feel his cheek on her own. Her voice was stuck in her throat.
"Chiharu-chan?" Yamazaki asked as he laughed. "Wow, you sure daydream a lot. Wonder what about. Could it be...that Chiharu-chan has someone on her mind?"
Chiharu blushed as her eyes widened at his comment. She swatted him away by shrugging her shoulders and turned to face him. "N-No!" she retorted.
Yamazaki laughed. "Aww, Chiharu-chan. I was only joking." But he seemed to be relieved to hear what she said. "So do you want to go in that store called Twin Bells or what?" he asked with a grin.
Chiharu blinked in confusion.
"Oh, it seemed like you really wanted to go inside since you were just staring at it. Well, c'mon. Let's go. I have always seen this store but never went inside. It seems too girly for me. But I'll go inside with you if you want," he said.
Chiharu smiled. "You've never been in here? Never?"
Yamazaki shook his head. "Nope. I heard that this was the place that you girls bought all those good luck cards from back in elementary school. You know, the ones that helped you depending on which one you get. I think you got a few too right?"
Chiharu nodded, surprised that he remembered. "You remember?"
The boy nodded and rolled his eyes. "Oh of course I'll remember! You started bragging that you had a higher grade than me in that big Literature exam because of that card. Now you gonna go in or what?"
She nodded then giggled, happy that he remembered all that. She smiled, deciding to tease him a bit. "Yamazaki-kun, I didn't know you liked these stores with little girly gadgets."
He seemed to turn red as he scratched the back of her head. "Oh, I just thought I'd check it out once since you're so into it."
Chiharu turned red at that as he bounded up to the door holding it open for her. She stepped inside and thanked him as he too walked in after.
It was a store lined with many shelves along the walls with various things on them. There were also many other tables scattered around the store with displays of the cutest things Chiharu had ever seen. Her eyes filled with wonder as she, like the other customers in the store, browsed around with Yamazaki at her heels. Stopping at a table that showed the newest little toys the store had, Chiharu started giggled as she picked one up. "Yamazaki-kun! Look! Look!"
She held out her palm straight, and placed the toy on it. It was a monkey with a marching band suit on and holding cymbals in its small hands. It was a small toy, only about half the size of her palm, but when she winded the monkey up from the bottom, it started walking forward, smashing its little cymbals together with a grin on its face.
Yamazaki chuckled at the toy. "It reminds me of the story I heard that monkeys were the ones who started marching bands! They were the perfect marching band musicians since they used their hand-like tail to help them too. The ones that beat the drums were-"
Chiharu pouted and sighed a bit at his story. Placing the monkey back on the table, she turned to Yamazaki and interrupted him. "Oh Yamazaki-kun...not again."
Yamazkai smiled sheepishly and chuckled. "Couldn't resist."
Suddenly a woman with long, wavy dark hair walked up to them with a kind smile. "Oh hello, Chiharu-chan!" she said noticing the girl with the familiar brown pigtails. "It's nice to see you!"
The teen smiled in return as she looked up at the lady's grayish eyes. "Hi, Maki-san! It's nice to see you, too!"
The woman smiled and then noticed the young man next to her with a grin on his face. "Ara? Your boyfriend, Chiharu-chan?" She saw the young girl blush red and smiled to herself.
Chiharu instantly became embarrassed. Her boyfriend? "Wh-What!" she stammered. "H-He's-"
But before she can finish, Yamazaki had spoken up. "-Very delighted to meet you, Maki-san. I'm Yamazaki Takashi," he said politely, "and yes, I am in fact Chiharu's boyfriend. We were just strolling when she wanted to go inside your store. It's very pleasant in here. I like it very much," he said. During his conversation, he had somehow slipped his arm around Chiharu's waist, which caused her to blush even more.
Maki giggled. "Such a cute couple!"
Yamazaki nodded as he turned to Chiharu, leaning forward a bit so that their faces were almost touching. "Yeah I think so, too! Ne, Chiharu-chan?" He gave her a noticeable wink.
Chiharu turned even redder and looked down at the floor silently.
Yamazaki started laughing and soon Maki joined in. "Aw, Chiharu-chan. I was just teasing, "her childhood friend said apologetically. Turning to Maki, he said, "I don't think I'd be able to survive as Chiharu-chan's boyfriend."
Chiharu frowned as a short fuse was broke and she became instantly angry at him.
Maki blinked in confusion. "Why not?"
Before Yamazaki could respond,his fellow classmate and friend slapped the back of his head and pouted, looking the other way. "I don't treat you that badly!" she whined.
He rubbed the back of his head, pretending to be seriously hurt. "Itai. So violent. See what I mean, Maki-san?"
The older woman laughed at the couple's actions. "You guys are too cute!" she said delightedly. Suddenly a little girl caught her attention asking her something about a toy that was out of stock. "Oh, excuse me Chiharu-chan, Yamazaki-kun." And she followed the little girl to the place where the toy was usually seated.
"Ne, Chiharu," Yamazaki said tapping his shoulder, a boyish grin on his face. "She said I was cute! Aren't you jealous?" He started laughing as Chiharu rolled her eyes but smiled warmly.
"You baka..."
As Chiharu entered the book store, Yamazaki suddenly rushed in, leaving her at the entrance with a smile on her face. She watched as Yamazaki started browsing through some legends and myths stories and picked up a book with a picture of the abominable snowman on the cover. Chiharu sighed and shook her head. Yamazaki had changed...but not that much. He was still his quirky little self with an obsession for story telling and myths and such things like that. Chiharu laughed inwardly and started walking around when she remembered about Yamazaki's birthday present. Would a book do? It was a fact after all that Yamazaki loved getting new ideas for stories from his books. But then Chiharu figured that books weren't the answer. It was too obvious a present for someone like him. Chiharu wanted it to be special and have a secret meaning. It had to be so special that Yamazaki could figure out that she liked him.
"Chiharu,"she heard him called and she found him standing behind her. "Wanna go now?"
Chiharu blinked in shock. Usually Yamazaki spent hours and hours in the bookstore trying to figure out which book to buy. "You bought something already?"she asked.
Yamazaki shook his head and a faint line of a blush could be seen on his cheeks as he scratched the back of his head. "Uhh no. I'm not getting anything today..." he said quietly.
Now this was a surprise! Every single time they went to a bookstore, no matter where, he always bought a book. He had said it was just so hard resisting. This of course, confused Chiharu further. "What! You not buying a book? Why not?" she asked curiously.
Yamazaki's blushed seemed to deepen at her question. "Uh,I decided to resist the urge today. I have to save my money for a p-present for someone..." he stammered looking away from her eyes.
Chiharu looked at him for a moment. He seemed like he was trying to avoid her gaze. But what he had said shocked her. He would sacrifice to buy a book for someone's present? She started getting curious who it was and suddenly a silly notion popped in her mind. C-Could it be...that Yamazaki was getting a present for a girl! "Who's the present for?" she asked rather quickly.
Yamazaki looked away, avoiding her eyes. "Just for a close friend. Should we leave now?"
Then she followed him out of the bookstore.
Chiharu and Yamazaki were walking side by side down the sidewalk silently, the tension still in the air. Chiharu couldn't believe it still. That close friend must be pretty special that he wouldn't mind giving up a book for him or her. Chiharu started getting a cold feeling as she walked briskly next to him. Did he have a girlfriend or something that he didn't tell her about? She frowned. Usually Yamazaki would tell her everything. He wouldn't just leave it as "Just for a close friend." He'd tell her who it was for and the occasion. After all he was one who liked to talk a lot. "Yamazaki-kun, who's that close friend that you're talking about?" Chiharu asked looking straight ahead.
She didn't look up at him but she heard him stammering. "I-It's just a friend..." he said.
"Male or female?" she asked, her voice quiet.
Yamazaki seemed to jump at her question. "Huh? Uh...f-f-female..."
"Oh." Chiharu felt the warmth that she usually felt around him disappear and get replaced by a cold, hurt feeling deep inside. Was she jealous? Yes. But she was hurt even more. Yamazaki had never given up something as special as a book he wanted for her. But maybe she was thinking too hard. For all that she knew he probably wasn't going out with that girl. But still, and as bad as she felt about it, she felt mad at him for some reason. He had never treated her with anything special.
She started walking more briskly, seeming as though she wanted to get away from him. He seemed to notice this and quickly ran up to her side, matching her pace. "Chiharu-chan?" he asked, his eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "Did I say something wrong?"
Chiharu kept a straight face forward as she shook her head quickly. "Of course not," she replied shortly.
Yamazaki looked at her for a minute longer then stopped walking as they passed a store. "Ne, Chiharu-chan," he said causing her to stop walking as well. She turned to him and saw that he was looking inside the jewelry store.
"Hmm?" she said walking towards him.
He smiled. "Don't you want to go in the jewelry store? You really love these," he said pointing towards the store.
Chiharu shrugged, still kind of angry at him. "Sure," she said with a seemingly exasperated sigh. "Let's go."
But as they entered the store, she couldn't help but think. He remembered that she liked jewelry? She felt part of the anger go away as a smile crept onto her lips.
Chiharu's eyes glittered as she looked upon the glass cases full of beautiful, glittery jewelry. As she walked past the necklaces and the earrings cases, her eyes fell upon the bracelets. She loved bracelets more than any other jewelry because she simply loved playing with them as she wore it on her wrist. Kneeling down so she was at level with the shelves, she started scanning them.
She began smiling as she saw a pretty, little, thin silver bracelet. It had caught her eyes among the many others and the main reason was because there were three tiny yellow flowers on it, spaced out from each other. It was so simple, yet so pretty that she couldn't take her eyes off it. Then she suddenly felt weight on her shoulder and saw that Yamazaki was kneeling beside her with one arm relaxing on her shoulder. He smiled to her and she blushed. She had almost forgotten he was here.
"Wow, that one's pretty!" he exclaimed as he saw what her gaze was so set on. "I think it suits you."
Chiharu blushed some more and merely nodded. "I guess. I really like the flowers."
"Yeah, me too. Hey, I just noticed. They're yellow! Your favorite color, ne?" Yamazaki said.
She blinked. Wow, she hadn't even noticed the flowers were her favorite color! She turned to Yamazaki with a soft smile. "Wow, you really do know me better than I know myself, Yamazaki-kun."
Yamazaki seemed to blush as he looked into her deep brown eyes. "Aww, don't flatter me, Chiharu-chan. You're the one who knows everything about me. You're the one who knows me best," he whispered.
"I've been together with you for so long, of course I'd know a lot of the things you like," she replied. Her eyes brightened. "That's what friends do right?"
She saw Yamazaki's eyes droop and his grin suddenly seem sad. He looked at her wistfully as he talked, barely audible for her to hear. "Yeah...that's what friends do..."
Chiharu stretched out her arms as she yawned. She and Yamazaki were seated outside of an ice cream parlor, pleasantly licking their ice cream. Chiharu was pretty tired. It had been quite an exciting day for her. It was a day with so many flurries of emotions that right now she didn't know how she felt towards Yamazaki. She was still kind of mad at him with that 'getting a present for a close female friend' incident, but it also felt like today she liked him even more than before. She was planning on going home soon, since she was sure her parents would come home from their jobs soon. Besides she still had homework...ugh...homework.
Yamazaki smiled at her as he looked up from his ice cream. "Tired Chiharu-chan?"
She nodded. "Yup! But it was a fun day, Yamazaki-kun! And you're even paying for the ice cream...and by the way, is that really alright? I don't wanna be a burden."
He laughed. "Oh Chiharu-chan, don't worry about it. You're definitely no burden. And besides, it's a little present for hanging out with me today! I had lots of fun...I-I always do when I'm around you..." he said quietly, a blush creeping on his cheeks.
Chiharu turned equally as red. "Th-Thanks...But didn't you say that you had to meet a friend today?"
He nodded taking another lick of his ice cream. "Oh yeah! We came here right after school ended. We went to some stores around here but she had to leave earlier than I thought. Said she had to go and finish something at home."
Suddenly, Chiharu froze as her ears seemed to tune everything out. She. Yamazaki had come here with a she! Chiharu tried to assure herself that it was probably all a misunderstanding but the other part of her was panicking and getting angrier by every second she sat there. She started putting together the pieces, the clues he had given her. First, he wasn't buying a book because he said he was saving money for a female friend. Then, he had come here with a she. Chiharu's eyes started to water. He had turned down her offer to walk with her to meet up with a girl!
Chiharu's ice cream cone dropped to the cement with a plop, but the girl didn't seem to notice at all.
H-Had Yamazaki and that other girl come here...for a date? Could it be that the girl was Yamazaki's girlfriend? Besides, didn't guys often get presents for their girlfriends once in a while? Chiharu started to tremble as one single hot tear trailed down her cheek. But the worst thing of all...Yamazaki hadn't told her. He could've at least told her that he had a girl. He had told her so many things over the years so easily to her. Why couldn't he have told her about having a girlfriend? Then at least she would've given up on him a long time ago and not be crying out here in public like a fool!
Yamazaki was startled as Chiharu suddenly became all silent and dropped her ice cream on the ground. Then he started worrying when he saw a silent tear crawl down her sudden pale face. "Ch-Chiharu-chan?" he said, starting to panic. He grabbed her shoulder with the hand that wasn't holding the ice cream cone. "Chiharu-chan! What's wrong?"
Chiharu turned to him slowly and he saw a couple of more tears dropping from her brown eyes. The ice cream forgotten, he dropped it on the ground and grabbed her other shoulder. "What's wrong, Chiharu-chan?" he said, his worry increasing with every moment.
She gave him the coldest glare she could. "Nothing!" she shouted pushing him away. "Leave me alone!"
"Chiharu-chan?" Yamazaki whispered in complete confusion. A hint of hurt was heard in his cracking voice. Chiharu had never ever looked at him that way. She had never looked at him with such...hatred and sadness. It hurt...a lot.
Shepicked up her bag, avoiding eye contact. Then started sprinting away from him, her eyes still a fountain of tears. She ran and ran...ignoring the people's gazes, ignoring Yamazaki's hurt face. She had never felt this way before. She had never felt such a stab at her heart. Why did she love him so much? If she didn't, everything would be so much simpler. If she didn't, her heart wouldn't be breaking like it was doing right now!
"Yamazaki-kun...you baka..."
