Omigosh, this is probably the longest fanfiction I've ever written! I was only expecting like 5 chapters! This is so kewl! o
Okay, this chapter will focus mostly on Lettuce.
I really like Lettuce, probably because her and I have a lot in common.
Now, Chapter 11!
----------
"Omigosh! I can't believe I'm gonna be late!" Mud splashed onto the back of her legs as Ichigo ran through the puddled streets toward the cafe, "Well, I guess it's kinda believable since I don't really remember the last time I wasn't late." She stood in front of the cafe doors and took several seconds to catch her breath before entering.
Lettuce looked in her direction, "Wow Ichigo. You're here earlier than usual. Only late by 15 minutes this time." She smiled and continued walking to the kitchen catching herself before she tripped.
Mint snickered and took a sip of her tea, "Are you ready for another earful from Ryou? You know how he gets when you're late. He'll probably make you stay after closing to mop the floors again, or he might make you wash the dishes for Keiichiro, or..."
Ryou walked in and looked over at the group of girls. He then directed his eyes toward Ichigo. Mint grinned expecting the usual yelling and arguing, but Ryou just gave Ichigo a gentle smile. Ichigo responded with a smile of her own, Ryou then walked up the stairs to his room and both continued with their own business.
Everyone stared at Ichigo. Zakuro leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes, "Well that was new?"
Mint stood up and threw her fists on the table, "What the hell was that? There's something going on between you two isn't there! There's something you're not telling us Ichigo and I demand to know what it is right this second!"
Ichigo backed away as Mint came closer, "What are you babbling about? There's nothing going on between Ryou and me!"
Lettuce giggled, "Well we all know that's not true Ichigo. You're keeping some little secrets from us and even I'm a little curious about what they are."
"You finally payed Ryou to pretend to like you for a day didn't you?" Zakuro asked as she searched for split ends in her hair.
Ichigo let out a nervous laugh, "No, it's nothing like that. I guess Ryou must have finally fallen in love with the perfect girl." Her eyes filled with stars, "Someone beautiful, smart, talented, a wonderful personality..." She looked around to see that no one was paying attention."
Zakuro stood up and began to walk away, "I'm going back to work, you had all better do the same."
Lettuce got up after her and whispered into Ichigo's ear, "Tell me the secret later."
Mint was the only one who remained, but she did not get up. The way she stared at Ichigo made her extremely nervous, "You know I'm gonna find out Ichigo. I'll do whatever it takes to find out." At that, she got up and walked away.
Ichigo took a deep sigh of relief. She looked around and noticed that the cafe was quieter than it usually was, "Hey! Has anyone seen Pudding?"
"Ryou gave her the day off. It was something about 'calming Tart down' cause Kish and Pie left him here on earth." Lettuce answered.
Ryou shut down his computer and headed for the stairway to check in on the cafe. He got up and opened the door to see Lettuce with her arm up and ready to knock his door.
Lettuce lowered her arm and looked to the floor blushing, "I'm sorry, I-I just wanted to talk to you...you know...if you're not busy or anything, but if you are, it's okay cause I can come back some other time when you're not, unless you don't want me too then I can just..." She stopped herself realizing how fast she was babbling. She played with the pleats in her skirt, "I'm sorry." She turned around and began walking the opposite direction.
"Lettuce, wait." Ryou said putting his hand on her shoulder. Lettuce stopped, her cheeks turning a deeper shade of pink at Ryou's warm touch.
She turned around still trying to avoid eye contact with the blonde in front of her, "Do-Do you need something?" She rocked back and forth on her heels still watching Ryou's hand on her shoulder from the corner of her eye.
He stepped aside, clearing the doorway, "It's kinda lonely up here, I could use some company, if you don't mind."
Lettuce shook her head and looked up at him with an excited smile across her face, "Of course not, I don't mind at all." She walked inside and closed the door behind her. She followed Ryou to a couple of chairs near the window and took the chair beside his own. She felt nervous being in his room for the first time, but happy at the same time. She didn't know if she should be the first to talk, so she waited to see if Ryou would say anything first.
Ryou saw that she was waiting for him so he began the conversation, "So...you said you wanted to talk to me?" He smiled trying to help her feel more confortable noticing how nervous she was.
"Ah, yes." She pulled out a small, light blue bag tied with a white ribbon and handed it to him, "They're cookies. I know you probably have a lot of them since we kinda make them here at the cafe, and they're definitely nothing compared to Keiichiro's, but I worked really hard on them last night and I don't think they're really that bad." She watched as he untied the ribbon and took out the first cookie. She felt the butterflies in her stomach as he took the first bite.
"They're delicious!" He said smiling as he took out another cookie.
Lettuce's face lit up, "Are they really?"
"Of course! You're a wonderful cook Lettuce! Did you make all these cookies for me?"
Lettuce nodded cheerfully, "Yes. I am so happy that you like them."
Ryou got up from his chair, "I'll save the rest for later, but for now, I think we should both get back to work."
"Alright." Lettuce followed behind him as they walked out the door. Ryou closed the door behind her and headed toward the staircase.
Lettuce stopped, "Um... Ryou?"
Ryou also stopped and turned to face her, "Yeah?"
She put her arms behind her and began to play with the pleats in her skirt once again, "It's just, if you're not busy or anything this weekend, I was just wondering..." She paused, deciding whether or not to continue. She shook her head and went on, "Do you want to join me for a picnic this weekend?" Her face went back to pink and her eyes went back to the floor as she nervously waited for his answer, fearing for how he might respond.
Ryou was surprised at Lettuce's invitation. It wasn't that he didn't like Lettuce, but he loved Ichigo. At the time, he didn't know what to do. He still wasn't ready to tell anyone about his relationship with Ichigo, but he didn't want to break Lettuce's heart. It was obvious that this was her first time sharing her feelings with a guy and he feared that she would be afraid to ever do the same if another guy if he were to reject her. An awkward silence fell between the two of them and both were obviously nervous as to what might happen the next second.
Lettuce finally spoke up seeing that Ryou obviously wasn't interested in her, "It's okay. I understand, you don't have to feel bad." She tried to stop her eyes from watering.
Not knowing what to do, Ryou finally replied, "Yes, I would love to join you for a picnic this weekend."
Lettuce looked up at him, "Do...you mean it?"
He nodded.
Lettuce smiled, "Great. I'll make a wonderful lunch."
She ran toward the staircase, "I'll see you this weekend then!" At that she ran down the stairs.
Once Lettuce was out of sight, Ryou fell back against the wall and sank to the floor, "I hope you'll understand Ichigo." He banged the back of his head against the wall behind him and then rested it on his knees."
"What!" Ichigo's voice echoed through the empty cafe, "Are you crazy? Did you even think about Lettuce's feelings!"
"I couldn't think at the moment Ichigo, I was afraid that I would break her heart. If I said know, she would probably be afraid of ever sharing her feelings with a guy again." Ryou replied.
Ichigo sank into the nearest chair and sighed, "I know, but she probably won't ever trust a guy again after she finds out that you just went out with her out of pity. Did you think about that?" She put her face against the table, "I'm also kinda jealous. You know, we haven't even been on an 'official' date yet."
"Like I said, I wasn't thinking." Ryou sat in the chair in front of her and took her hand in his, "Besides, there will be plenty of more romantic moments between us." He kissed her cheek causing her to giggle a bit. "I'll just go on the picnic with her as if we were friends. Maybe that's all she meant by it anyway."
Ichigo nodded, "Alright, but Ryou, please don't break her heart. You know how sensitive she is."
----------
Yes! Another chapter finished!
You know, I watched Gundam Seed the other night, and surprisingly, I liked it.
I never really liked any of those Gundam series before and was expecting this one to be just like the rest, but it wasn't.
Yeah, that had nothing to do with this, but I thought that I'd just share that.
The next chapter will be about Ryou and Lettuce's "date"?
Until then!