Chapter 31: So We Meet Again
Hello, nice to see you all again~ Here's Meltdown's 32nd chapter, which is mostly about Luka. I hope you enjoy it~
Saturday~~~
Miki's POV
"Come on kitty, all I want is to take a cute picture of you!"
Alas, the white alley cat pays no heed to my pleads and continues running away. Even though I've been following this cat around for half an hour, I can't give up. I need to take a picture of something "cute" for an online contest.
The cat turns at a corner and just when I reach it, it seems like that cat has disappeared.
Now what am I going to take a picture of?
Just as I turn around to start walking back to my house, I see Len and Rin walking together, hand in hand. Rin's mouth is moving, but I can't understand what she's telling Len. It must be a joke or something, because he chuckles lightly, which makes Rin smile. That's so cute.
That's it!
Raising my camera up discreetly, I pretend to be tying my shoes. I can't let them notice me and I have to perfect a picture with two moving people. A hard task, but I think I can do it.
I snap the picture and get up quickly, walking away as if nothing happened.
I wonder what everyone else is doing on this break.
Sunday~~~
Luka's POV
I never expected for him to agree to a date. In fact, I'm surprised that I even had the courage to ask him out.
I had forgotten to get my bag, so I told my parents I was going back into the auditorium to grab it quickly. I bumped into Kaito, who was taking off his makeup. We started making small talk, and then I just asked him.
He looked at the mirror for a while, thinking it over. I wanted to just laugh and say I was joking around and run out, but he replied. He said he'd go on a date with me and smiled.
And now we're standing side by side, wandering around town. Well, not mindlessly, but we're heading to a small park for a picnic (my idea). I stuttered so much while trying to keep a conversation with him; I'm sure I've made myself appear like an idiot. It's not like me to stutter and pick out my words carefully, but what if I say something embarrassing? What if I move too quickly and he gets uncomfortable?
Like right now. I'm trailing slightly behind him, trying to think of something to say. He's quiet again, but I can't tell what he's thinking about because his face is hidden from view. I run through the list of body language tips from a magazine yesterday.
His shoulders are relaxed. Well, at least he's not stiff and feeling awkward.
His hands are hanging loosely by his sides. In fact, every now and then we bump hands.
What did the magazine say about that? Does he want to push me aside? Does he want to hold my hand? Just one step, that much closer and I can boldly grab his hand. But is that what he wants? All I want is for us to be closer, but I guess that's a bit greedy of me.
Take things in his pace, Luka. Remember what happened to his just last summer.
When you first meet Kaito, you won't think that he's in any pain. He keeps up a positive vibe and is so nice to everyone. A smile can deceive almost anyone.
But when I first met Kaito, he wasn't smiling.
It was just last summer.
I was out running small errands for my parents. The sky was grey with heavy clouds tempting to let out rain. I don't like getting a cold or getting sick in general, so this rain was bad news. Gripping the grocery bags tighter, I began running even more, trying my best to beat the live clock ticking up above me.
Kaito was just standing there, I'm surprised people didn't bump into him. I did of course, and we nearly fell onto the floor together. I tripped over his shoe and slightly tilted as I fell, making me fall on my side. I unclenched my eyes and carefully sat up to see a hand in front of me.
"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to make you fall."
I grabbed the hand belonging to the stranger and he helped pull me up to where I was standing normally. The shooting pain in my knees disappeared slowly, but traces of it were still there. His eyes followed mine and he slightly gasped at my scraped knee.
"Are you alright?"
I finally looked up at the guy who had caused me to drop my bags and scrape my knee. For the second time, my breath was knocked out of me. I began to stutter as I looked at him. The dark blue hair and those blue eyes belonged to Kaito Shion, one of the most known students at our school.
"Y-yeah, I'll b-be fin-alright. It's just a small scrape. That's all it is. It'll heal within a few days, of course it's going to be fine, don't worry for me. I'm A-OK!"
I offered him a smile and laughed at myself, trying to blow off my awkwardness.
It was not working that well.
After what seemed like ages to me, he cracked a smile and laughed a little. I began picking up the bags, but he stopped me by grabbing them all.
In an answer to my confused look, Kaito said, "Let me help you with these. It's the least I can do."
"Oh, um, okay," I replied and hung my head, staying quiet out of embarrassment. "T-thank you."
I began leading him to my house with a slight limp on my right foot. I didn't like the silence, so I asked him why he was just standing there.
"I have no idea," Kaito answered and sighed. I looked over at him and sensed something was off. When I looked in his eyes before, I sensed that he was hurt before. He had tried to smile away, but there are some things that you can't disguise.
"D-do you mind telling me what's wrong?" I asked, nervously playing with fingers.
Kaito stayed quiet for some time and I figured he would stay that way. People don't just tell random strangers their life story. Well, I suppose some people do if they're desperate for someone to talk to.
And that's how Kaito was.
"Things aren't going so well for me. I…there was this girl that I really liked. I thought things were going great for us, but she dumped me."
Kaito pauses again and sighs. "Well, things weren't going so well, so I knew something was going to happen. But I just pushed it away. After she left me, she went after one of my closest friends and they got together. I can't believe they would do something like this to me."
After he stopped talking, I snapped back into reality when a drop of rain hit my cheek and slid down. Drops of rain were falling down his cheeks too. I had an indifferent face on, waiting and wondering what to say.
This was Kaito Shion, one of the most popular boys in our high school. The vulnerable boy standing next to me was nothing like all the talk said he was like. Where were his smiles? Where was his positive words? Where was that warmth that he exuded? But then again, I had only heard about him from others' mouths. I hadn't ever met him.
The words slipped out of my mouth so suddenly.
"Things will get better," I started, and we locked eyes. I had to force myself not to become "Toeto" and sink into a puddle from his eyes. "I-I may not know you, but… things will get better for you. You just have to wait for that special someone to come along and help you up."
"How are you so sure of this?"
"I used to be like this too. I mean, our situations were different, but I felt hopeless too. But a very special friend of mine came along and helped me."
After he stayed quiet, I decided to add something more. "Or maybe you might fall in love again."
"I don't think I can ever fall in love. It doesn't seem to be real."
Now here we are again, centimeters apart but yet so far. When will he realize that I'm not like Miku? I'm not out to grab his heart and tear it to pieces.
"Luka?"
I snap out of my thoughts and turn my head to Kaito. "Yes, Kaito?"
"You were staring off into space," Kaito says and I shake my head.
"It was nothing." Holding the picnic basket closely to my side, I ask, "Do you want to get some ice-cream for our picnic too?"
His face brightens up in a second. "I'd love to."
Normal POV~~~
Meanwhile, on another side of the town, Len and Rin are walking out of a movie, standing side by side and laughing.
"But seriously, the ending to that movie we just saw didn't make any sense," Len says as Rin stretches a bit.
"That's 'cause you were sleeping through the whole move again, just like you did when we watched Baby Bear," Rin says and Len nods.
"No offense, but why do your parents watch that thing? It's the corniest movie ever," Len says. "You know, that lead girl who was with that other guy looked a lot like you, Rinny."
Rin elbows his side. "Oh, shut up."
Len laughs as he clutches his side from the hard nudge. "I was just joking, but the movie is still really corny."
"But it's so sweet! Gosh, I wish there were real guys out there that were like Big Al the character."
"What are you talking about, Rinny?" Len says and clears his throat. "I'll guard you against any villain. I'll always be by your side."
Rin starts laughing again. "You're such a dork," she says and Len smiles.
"How about we go do something else?"
"Like what?"
"We could always make-ou-"
Rin clamps her hand on his mouth and taps her chin. "Ah, let's go to the karaoke!"
"Okay," Len says through Rin's hand. She sets it back down as they start walking towards the place.
"Let's do something fast-paced and with rock in the song when we get there!"
"I wanna do sing something slow and sweet, but I guess it's good to scream every so often!"
It's hard not to notice the two carefree teenagers laughing at the top of their lungs and having an exciting time. As they walk on a long slope, they don't spot a familiar teal-haired girl just across from them. Miku looks over at Len and notices how he casually bumps hands with her and leans into her when he teases her.
The nostalgia gets to Miku and she quickly walks away before doing anything she will regret.
Miku's eyes sweep over to her left, to see a girl sitting on a park bench. Miku pretends to be looking somewhere else as the girl pretends to use her cell phone and text someone.
"So we meet again."
"What business do you have with me, Hatsune?" the blonde girl asks, impatient. She had been in the middle of business when she received a call from Miku to arrive here. Not to mention she had also learned that Miku is one of Len's girlfriends.
"I had news for you. It's about Len."
"Why should I listen to what you have to say? Do you want him to yourself? Is that it?"
"It's not like that at all," Miku says and stays quiet as someone passes by. She unknowingly clenches her hand as she thinks about Rin. "I've been forgotten by Len, as have other girls. There's someone new in his life now. That unsuccessful day, when I told her to back off, she didn't listen."
"The "she" you are referring to is…?"
"Rin Kagamine."
"And how do I know that you won't just use me and get Len?"
"As I said before, he's already forgotten about me. In fact, he just broke up with me this afternoon," Miku smoothly lies, "once Rin's out of the picture, you are free to have Len."
The girl stops typing and looks down at her phone. "How can I help you?"
The corners of Miku's lips spread into a smile.
I took another whole week to write this -_-. I kept on deleting scenes because it seemed like anything I typed was weird. But hopefully this one isn't so bad~ If you read these things, review on who you think Miku is talking to. Oh and there was three song references in here. The first is towards the bottom (look at the title), another in Luka's POV part.
Thank you for your reviews and for taking the time to read this. I really appreciate it all :D
