Might as well start typing this one. I don't even know if I'm going to post it. I'm not a real big fan of it, and I think it might confuse people. I'm not a big fan of Kureno and Arisa as a pairing. I prefer Arisa and Kyo!
The song I used is 'Everywhere' by the lovely Michelle Branch. Yellowcard also covered it though. Meaning, I didn't write the stuff in writing like this. But you knew that. At least, I think you did.
That was my disclaimer. So, I didn't write the song. But the story is completely my idea, aside from the fact that Natsuki Takaya made up all of the characters. But you knew that, because this is FANfiction-dot-net, not the real thing. Hehe.
Everywhere
Turn it inside out so I can see the part of you that's drifting over me…
The sun was shining. The sky was blue. A sparrow flew overhead as kids played in the park. Basically, it was just like every other nice Saturday morning that I couldn't take advantage of because I was stuck playing cashier at that stupid convenience store. Sure, I'd like a day off, but I was paying for practically everything these days. I couldn't afford a day off.
Ah well, I thought as I entered my day of hell, at least I have this evening off.
My first hour of work was spent stocking shelves, and since that doesn't take much of my brain, I decided to reflect on the strange dream I kept having. That guy was in it… that guy that sometimes came into the store. Well, he used to. I hadn't seen him in a while. I didn't even know if it was him I was dreaming about; I just assumed because all I could see was the back of his head, and he was one of the only brown haired guys I knew, or knew of.
But I always woke up right before the guy turned around.
And when I wake you're never there
and when I sleep you're everywhere.
You're everywhere…
I should stop thinking about him, I decided. He's probably in his twenties… he probably has a girlfriend… and he'd never want to have anything to do with me.
Oh well.
I finished stacking the toilet paper into a nifty little pyramid and stood up. I picked up the empty box and was about to look in the back room for more things to put on the shelves when…
…there he was.
All freaked out, I turned around and ran into a little old lady. I stepped back and fell right into my nifty toilet tissue pyramid. All of them came tumbling down on me.
"Oh… um… could you tell me where the pasta is located?" the old lady asked as people stood around and laughed at me.
"Aisle Five," I replied, pointing to the aisle right behind her.
"Okay! Thank you!" she said like she didn't realize I was sitting in a mound of toilet paper.
By the time I got up, he was gone.
Just tell me how I got this far
Tell me why you're here and who you are
It took me another twenty minutes to make the pyramid again, and the whole time I was fuming. Why did I have to be such a clumsy idiot? What if he saw?
Maybe it wasn't him. Maybe I was beating myself up over nothing.
But all I had seen was the back of his head.
Just like in my dream.
"Uotani, register 2," my boss said as he walked passed. He was probably wondering why it had taken me almost an hour to make a toiletry product pyramid. Or he had seen my fall on the surveillance cameras.
Whichever, I put on my name tag and trudged the second register, keeping an eye out to see if he might still be there.
'Cause everytime I look you're never there
But everytime I sleep you're always there…
Kureno.
That's basically all I know about him: his first name.
That and that he has the greatest smile I've ever seen.
After about an hour, I spotted him again.
He had a few things in his hand, and he was coming to my register.
Suddenly I got all giddy and flustered like a little girl. Before he could get in line, I turned the register off and ducked behind the counter to make it look like nobody was working there. Why was I so nervous?
Once I was sure he was gone, I stood up. He was leaving. He smiled at me with that great smile and for some reason, I wondered if maybe he came to see me?
Because you're everywhere to me
And when I close my eyes, it's you I see
You're everything I know that makes me believe I'm not alone.
I'm not alone.
"You saw him again?"
"Yeah…" I sighed, shoving a few potato chips in my mouth.
"Did you talk to him?" Hana asked, sitting down on the floor of Tohru's bedroom next to Tohru and I.
"No," I confessed.
"Did he see you?"
"Well… he might've seen me knock over the toilet paper pyramid, and I'm pretty sure he saw me hide under the counter so he wouldn't come to my register… Why am I so stupid?" I sighed, shoving more potato chips in my mouth.
"Uo-chan… you get like this every time you see him! Don't be so upset!" Tohru exclaimed, taking the bad away from me.
"I know… but I just don't know… oh never mind…"
"How do you know you're not imagining him?"
I raised an eyebrow at Hana.
"What if you're so desperate you're seeing things? What if he doesn't exist? I mean, you've never seen him anywhere but the two places you work at."
"I'm not desperate!" I exclaimed, but I really hadn't seen him outside of work.
I recognize the way you make me feel
It's hard to think that you might not be real…
I don't think so… I mean, you've talked to him before, Uo-chan," Tohru put in.
Yeah! I knew his name because he told me.
"Next time you see him… I dare you to follow him," Hana said.
"Hana, that's creepy. He'll think I'm stalking him."
"But what if he's not real?"
"Oh hell, he's as real as we are," I shrugged, but now had this sudden urge to talk to him.
Tohru was staring at the floor.
"What's up, Tohru?" I asked.
"Oh… um… I'm sure you'll see Kureno tomorrow!" she smiled optimistically like she always does.
"Sure… whatever…" I shrugged, because how could she know? She didn't know him.
I sense it now, the water's getting deep
I try to wash the pain away from me…
I was at register two again the next night. It was ten minutes to closing and not many people were left, and I began to feel stupid. I had worked a twelve hour day and for some stupid reason, I had believed Tohru. I thought maybe I would see Kureno today.
But what did I expect? He didn't come, and I probably wouldn't see him for a long while just like last time.
It was closing time and I gathered my things from the back room, angrily flinging my apron off. I left the store and stormed down the street, mad at myself for having high hopes.
But then I heard it.
Footprints. Fast footprints as if somebody was running behind me. I wasn't alone on this dark street, lighted only by dimming street lights. I stopped walking.
"Arisa?"
You're everywhere to me
And when I close my eyes it's you I see
You're everything I know that makes me believe I'm not alone
I'm not alone…
"Ku…Kureno…"
"You don't have to say anything," he shut me up, and enveloped my cold hand in his warm one.
We walked in silence, his hand around mine, for what seemed like an eternity. His face glowed in the street light and his perfection was breathtaking. It felt so much like a dream.
We walked to the park and stood in front of the fountain. The breeze of the night made a slight mist brush across my face, scented with his cologne. I stared up at him and he stared into the fountain. After a minute, he turned and smiled at me and I turned away, embarrassed. Nothing was said and nothing needed to be.
When I touch your hand, it's then I understand
The beauty that lies within
It's now that we begin
I looked at my watch. It was almost midnight.
"Arisa…" Kureno said, and I looked up. He was staring into the fountain again. "…I like you."
My heart jumped. "…I like you too."
"That's nice… and I thank you… but do you really think it's right?"
My heart dropped. I didn't want to believe it. "What… What do you mean?"
"Do you think it's right for us to see each other?" he repeated.
Of course I did… but for some reason, I didn't want to admit it. What was he saying?
He meant he doesn't really like me. He means I'm just a little high school girl. He doesn't want me, and when I leave, he probably won't remember my name.
"I… I guess not," I sighed, turning to wipe a tear away.
"I think of you often," Kureno said, letting go of my hand. "Goodbye, Arisa," he whispered, and kissed me on the cheek.
Then he was gone.
You always light my way
And never comes a day
No matter where I go
I always feel you so
It was like I was coming out of a trance.
I was still standing by the fountain, but I had this feeling that Kureno was never there to begin with. I was alone.
Maybe Hana was right. Maybe I was imagining him the whole time. Maybe I had made up that scene to teach me a lesson, or to convince me that I was trapped in my own little fantasy world.
Then why did my hand and face feel warm? And why did the air carry his scent?
Because I'm making it up, I sighed, and sat on the ledge of the fountain, watching a sparrow skip through the water. I guessed I wasn't alone with that stupid bird around.
"You're lucky," I told the stupid bird. "You don't have problems like I do."
You're everywhere to me
And when I catch my breath it's you I breathe
You're everything I know that makes me believe
I'm not alone
I'm not alone…
"Shoo," I told the bird, and it looked up at me. "Shoo. Go home. I bet somebody's waiting for you. I bet you have somebody who loves you."
Maybe it was ridiculous to talk to a bird, but I didn't really care. I stood up to go home and it flew away.
Maybe somebody imagines me, I thought as I stared up at the starry sky on my way back. Maybe like the way I imagine Kureno, somebody sees someone just like me: A boring yankee high-school girl with too many problems to count.
Even though he wasn't real…
I missed him already.
You're in everyone I see
So tell me…
Do you see me?
Was that confusing to some people? I'll clarify if it is.
Wow. That was pretty long! Oh well.