Whew, finally got chapter three up. It seems their relationship is moving along kinda fast... but then again, this is Seta. He's not normal. Anyways, enjoy!
Chapter 3: Semi-Date?
Haruka woke up the next morning oblivious to what had happened the previous night. She got up and cleaned and was just about to start eating breakfast (Which consisted of a single roll) when the phone rang. Haruka picked it up.
"Hello?"
"Haruka! It's your mother." said the voice from the other line. Haruka gave a very small smile.
"Why are you calling now? I've got to get to work soon." Haruka said, taking another bite out of the roll as she slipped her shoes on.
"This will only take a minute. I woke up this morning and realized I never thanked you for doing that shopping for me."
"Oh, it was nothing." Haruka sighed as she attempted to put her coat on while holding the phone between her ear and her shoulder. "Is that all you called for?"
"Well, I do have one more question for you."
"Shoot."
"Who was that handsome young man you came back with. Are you two going out?"
"What?" Haruka blushed. "I just met him and barely know him. He's just a friend!" Haruka ranted.
"Oh, is that all? He seemed awfully friendly with you." she giggled into the phone.
"It was nothing." Haruka said through her teeth. "A one time thing. I'll probably never see him again."
"Aww, that's too bad. You two would make a cute couple."
"Are you done? I have to get going."
"Yes, we wouldn't want you to get in trouble now. Bye dear." The other line went dead. Haruka slammed the phone down on the table and practically ran out the door, thinking about how miserable she would be if she still lived with her family.
By next Sunday, Haruka had been so busy with work that she had nearly forgotten about her "date" that night. It wasn't until she heard on knock on the door that she remembered.
"Damn!" she cursed when she heard it. "I forgot about tonight."
Flattening her hair with her hands, she walked to the door and opened it to reveal Seta standing there, smiling.
"Sorry I'm late. Are you ready to go? Or did you forget?"
Damn he's good.
"How could I forget about tonight?" Haruka muttered as she slipped on a pair of sandals. She hoped that he would take her anyplace fancy as she was only wearing black pants and a dark red t-shirt. She didn't really feel the need to dress up seeing as it wasn't an actual date. Then again, even if it was a date, she probably wouldn't have dressed up anyway.
Haruka followed Seta out the door and down the walkway to the road.
"So, where are we going." Haruka asked after a few minutes. Seta laughed.
"Well, the truth is I actually already ate dinner because I completely forgot about taking you to dinner tonight. So I figured we could take a walk in the park and I could just buy you ice cream or something!" Seta laughed again.
"What do you mean you forgot? This was your idea!" It kind of made Haruka a bit angry. She had to wonder if this guy knew anything about dating at all.
"You see, I'm pretty forgetful when it comes to stuff like this so--"
"So all I get for dinner is ice cream?" Haruka interrupted.
"What, you don't like ice cream? I always thought everyone did." Seta shrugged his shoulders. Haruka sighed.
"I guess it's okay." she muttered.
"Great! Because I know this great ice cream place!"
"I thought you just told me you were forgetful? How is it you know all these great places to buy food?" Haruka asked him.
"I don't forget everything." Seta replied. "Just most things." Haruka gave a long sigh, wondering to herself why she agreed to go with him tonight. She seemed to recall that she didn't really have a choice.
"So then why is it you didn't forget about me?" Haruka blurted out without thinking. As soon as she said it she turned away. Why did I just ask that?
"Well, you were just so nice to me. You really cheered me up that day." Seta put his hands into his pockets.
"How did I cheer you up? You didn't seem depressed. And for future reference, I'm really not that nice."
"I don't think that's true." Seta paused and stopped walking to face Haruka. "I think you're very nice."
"Am not." Haruka looked down at the ground. "Why did we stop?"
"Because we're here." Seta moved aside so Haruka could see the small ice cream stand behind him.
"Oh." Haruka said under her breath as they walked in line.
"So, what would you like?" Seta asked when their turn to order came.
"I'll just have chocolate."
"That's it? Nothing fancy or anything?" Seta smiled. He ordered it anyway. Haruka nodded.
A few seconds later, after Haruka received her ice cream, the two of them walked over to a nearby bench to sit down.
"You're not gonna get anything?" Haruka asked when she noticed that Seta had no ice cream.
"I told you already, I just had dinner. I'm not really hungry right now."
"I see." Haruka licked at the ice cream that was beginning to drip down the side.
It made Haruka a little nervous to be here with Seta like this for some reason. He seemed nice, but he was acting so... strange. She wondered to herself if he did this often with other girls. But one thing was for sure, he was definitely not an ordinary collage student. Sometimes he barely acted his age, always smiling like a 10 year old would.
"So... how's life?" Seta began after a pause. Haruka looked at him.
"How am I supposed to answer that question?" she asked.
"I could break it down for you if you want." Seta said, pondering to himself. Haruka said nothing. How about this! How is... work going for you?" he said spur of the moment.
"Not too great right now. It's been kinda hectic this week." she answered back without looking up.
"Oh?" Seta replied.
"Yeah, my father tripped down the steps last Monday and broke his leg, which means he hasn't been able to work. Me and my brother tried to manage on our own but..." Haruka paused. "we're planning to close down until my father's leg is healed, which means I'm out of a job for about two months." Haruka finished, taking a small bite of ice cream.
"Wow, I was expecting something happy." Seta leaned back on the bench and looked up at the sky. The sun was starting to set.
"Pretty huh?" he asked. Haruka looked up.
"I guess so."
"What, you don't like sunsets?"
"I've always preferred night time to sunsets" Haruka shrugged.
"Well you're in luck!" Seta gave an even wider grin. "It's almost night time." Haruka smiled at this, though she didn't let him see.
"Hey, about you're lack of a job for two months," Seta faced Haruka. "I might be able to help."
"Really?" Haruka tried not to sound too excited.
"Yeah, I could work something out for you and you could... oh!" Seta stopped mid-sentence suddenly and stood up.
"What now?" Haruka asked. Seta started walking off. "Where are you going?"
"I just remembered something I wanted to do." Seta turned around and continued walking backwards. "I'll only be a minute."
"Um, okay." Haruka muttered as Seta turned back around and took off at a full run. "What a weird guy." she muttered to herself.
While Seta was away, Haruka couldn't help wondering what kind of job Seta had been talking about before he left so suddenly. She couldn't help thinking that it would be something like a job working in some crowded clothing store or something else that she didn't want to do. Haruka took another bite of ice cream.
"Or worse..." Haruka thought. What if he traps me into working for some night club or something! Haruka definitely didn't want that kind of job and turned a bit red just thinking about it. But what if I turn him down? He may not like me anymore if I do but... isn't that what I want?
A voice interrupted her thoughts.
"Hey, Haruka!" Seta said in a very loud voice from behind her. He surprised Haruka so much that she lurched forward and managed to stick her face right into her unfinished ice cream.
"Smile!" There was a click, followed by a flash.
"Oh, are you alright?" Seta asked when he noticed Haruka's face. "You have ice cream on your--"
"I know!" Haruka stopped him. Seta smiled and swiped his finger down her ice cream covered cheek to eat a mouthful. "Delicious!"
"Shut up!" Haruka told him, wiping her face off with a napkin.
"What an interesting picture that'll make!" Seta said to himself. Haruka noticed he was holding a camera.
"Wait... did you just..." Haruka's face reddened even more. "Take a picture of me!" Haruka hated getting her picture taken.
Seta nodded.
"You little bastard!" Haruka stood up and made a grab for the camera. She missed.
"Hey, don't worry about it. I won't show anyone if you don't want me to." Seta stepped back.
"That was a cheap trick!" Haruka raised her ice cream. "I don't know why I even agreed to come with you tonight!"
Haruka drew her hand back and threw the ice cream at Seta's head full force. Seta dodged it, still smiling.
"Can you forgive me?" he asked. Haruka stopped to look at him.
"What?" she said incredulously. Seta just continued smiling. Haruka took a step forward. "Well I--"
Haruka statement was cut off when she stepped and a small puddle of spilled ice cream and fell towards the ground. She shut her eyes.
Haruka stopped mid-fall.
"Are you alright?"
Haruka looked up to see Seta with one arm around her mid-section and the other around her arm. Haruka blushed.
"Thanks." she muttered. Seta barely heard.
"It was no problem. Just be careful next time you try and attack me."Haruka frowned.
"You mean, you're not mad?" Haruka asked him. Seta shook his head and hoisted her up to her feet. After a second he let go of her.
"Ready to get going?" he asked. Haruka just nodded, still a bit baffled as to what just happened. Could he really be that forgiving?
The sun had set well before Seta and Haruka had started back towards Haruka's house and the night air was growing a bit chilly. Haruka was too preoccupied with her thoughts to notice the cool air.
"Aren't you cold?" Seta finally asked her. Haruka responded with a slight shake of her head.
"You're lucky... I'm freezing."
Haruka thought he was being a bit over dramatic.
"Hey Seta?" Haruka finally looked up. "Before you left earlier, you were saying something about a job. Care to finish it?" Haruka had been wondering about it ever since he mentioned it and had been debated with herself on whether or not she wanted his offer finished. Her curiosity finally won her over.
"Oh that?" Seta put his hands behind his head as they walked. "It was just a thought. I don't even really know if you'd be allowed to do it. But it seems like it would suit your type."
"My type? Just what kind of job are you talking about?" Now Haruka's curiosity had risen dramatically.
"This was just a thought but..." Seta paused. "Well me and a few collage professors are going down to South America to do a little excavating next month and since my former assistant left about a week ago..."
"Just tell me what the job is already!" Haruka was growing impatient.
"How would you like to be my assistant on my next archeological dig?"
Haruka did not know how to respond to that.
End Chapter 3! Hope you all enjoyed :D And please review while you're here! Reveiws are much appreciated.