Chapter 4

It was finally Friday, and Luka thanked the stars for that as she had worked tirelessly so she wouldn't have any work to do over half-term. She'd also only had a half day and decided to spend the afternoon in town with a fully conscious (and sober) Meiko, who was actually supposed to be studying as she was behind on work, and Lily, who should have been doing anything but slacking off. She didn't work and she dropped out of higher education. Luka sometimes wondered where she got her money from, it made her a tad envious considering she seemed to live just as well as Luka did herself, yet she was in debt with Student Loans and relied on money she had saved and worked for.

The trio had been in all the shops that Meiko had wanted to go to, as she was quite the money waster. Luka, on the other hand, was wise with her money and refused to spend anything when she really didn't need to. After all, she was happy just window shopping.

"Hey Meiko, isn't that that Kaito boy over there you have a little crush on? " Lily elbowed the brunette in the ribs, forcing her to grunt.

"You like Kaito-san?" Luka asked with a single brow raised.

"No, of course not, he just...looks like a fun guy is all..." she'd hoped that they'd take the bait but she was as transparent as a glass wall.

Lily snorted, "Yeah fun in bed, you mean!"

"Shut up! He's coming over!" Meiko hissed back.

"Good afternoon ladies" he politely addressed the small group,

"Care to join us?" he pointed behind to his group of rowdy friends, they didn't seem like the type Luka would like to accompany. Not only because of their apparent need for attention, but because of the entire groups gender.

"Uhm, well, we were actually spending time together, y'know?" Meiko politely replied.

Their hollow chatting disinterested Luka and her eyes wondered over to a delightful looking cafe. Albeit, it was small and crowded but somehow, it looked enticing. Her eyes scoured the building and she peered through the window from a distance. Teal.

Her eyes were drawn to the uniquely bright colour and to her delight, she recognized the girl sitting in a booth alone. She just so happened to be the cute neighbour that she seemed drawn to.

"Luka-san? Luka...?"

She was brought out of her own little world by Meiko's over enthusiastic voice.

"Are you coming Luka? We're going to the bar, maybe if you socialize this time you might leave with a handsome fella this time!" Lily sleazily grinned knowing full well the kind of response she'd receive.

Luka grimaced and clicked her tongue, "You know my preferences Lily" she berated the blonde.

"Well then...what about a gorgeous woman with huge ti-", before Lily could finish she was cut short with a menacing glare, instantly flashing an unpleasant memory in her mind; she remembered what happened last time she hooked Luka up with a woman without her permission- a punishment involving an agonisingly long lecture, a hard board and sore knees on Lily's part. The blonde sheepishly grinned scratching her cheek in defeat. Luka thought she would receive an apology but instead; "I forgot you like 'em like an ironing board" she chuckled, finding herself rather funny.

Luka didn't need to think twice about where her heart was telling her to go; "Ah, thank you but I think I'll pass" she smiled apologetically towards Meiko, completely ignoring the blonde's last remark. She didn't hesitate in waving goodbye to her friends before making her way into the cafe.

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Miku had skipped the last class of school, on the last day before summer half-term she'd endured yet another day of mocking and she didn't have the courage to go back to the art class where she was assaulted with cruel words and paint. Instead, she spent her afternoon in her regular cafe, drinking her favourite hot chocolate all the while enjoying her own company and reading an expensive book on music that she had saved up for.

Even though her eyes followed the words that flowed into paragraphs her mind wondered elsewhere, constantly reminding her of the merciless names that were thrown her way.

'Freak'

'Filthy bitch'

'Attention seeker'.

'Dirty slag'

Those were some of the mild insults. Her mind whirled around in the same torturous circle, causing her to have to forcefully concentrate too hard on the book and re-read the same page over and over. As she finally reached for the paper, intending to start from a fresh page, her teal eyes instantly locked onto the painful, dark bruising of her right wrist.

After Rin and Gumi had been sent away from the bathroom from an emotional Miku, she'd been ambushed by a group of boys waiting outside. They grabbed her by the wrist and threw her to the wall where they restrained her with a death grip; hands above her head. In addition to the cruel and unjustified treatment, they spat jokes in her face and made her beg them to leave.

'Why are people so mean? What have I done? Do I really deserve this?'

A slight stinging sensation filled her nose as her eyes filled with warm tears that blurred her vision and the lines on the pages became nothing but black squiggles.

"Must be an interesting book, hm?"

A beautiful, serene voice woke her from her own brutal thoughts and she shook her head to rid herself of the haze. She looked up and held her breathe. It was her neighbour, she'd only noticed her a couple of days ago but seeing her up close, she felt her heart flutter. Miku struggled to articulate a response and instead wiped away her growing tears, not noticing she impolitely disregarded the woman's question.

Luka decided to brush it off, because whatever the reason, she knew her tears weren't caused by a music book. She kindly let it slide knowing the young girl may not want to discuss such a thing with a stranger.

"May I sit? This cafe is small but business sure is bustling" the pinkette offered a wonderful smile, unlike anything Miku had ever seen before. She was in awe at how refined and gorgeous yet soft features this woman had. It was like the sun had frazzled away black clouds on a gloomy day and shone its rays on her, and her only.

Realizing she had been rudely staring and left the woman standing she panicked.

"Oh! O-of course! P-please sit!" she stammered. Miku was understandingly shy around people but she'd never severely stammered when speaking to anyone as much as this person made her. She made her feel uneasy, yet, warm inside at the same time. Miku respectfully put her book away in her bag and sipped at her hot beverage.

"Thank you" Luka smiled again and planted her coffee on the table between them.

"My name is Megurine Luka", she offered her hand for the tealette to shake.

"...Hatsune Miku..." she politely took her hand and was surprised by how soft and silky smooth her skin was. It reminded her of the satisfying feeling when you run your hand through sand. She revelled in it. For the first time in a long time, she received a pleasant feeling from the physical contact of another human being. For once, this contact did not result in her physical discomfort. It was so unlike the feeling of a fist to the stomach, or even a hand to the wrist. It almost shocked the tealette that she had rarely experienced such gentle handling before.

Luka marvelled at how delicately Miku shook her hand, how soft she was to touch, she couldn't help but wonder if all of her felt the same...

"Dry those eyes sunshine, you're much more beautiful with a smile gracing your face" Luka nonchalantly commented, earning herself a flustered blush.

Miku didn't know how to react. No-one had ever complimented her like that. No-one had ever called her anything close to beautiful. No-one was ever this kind to her, let alone a complete stranger. Her tinted face didn't pass unnoticed by her table guest,

"You're even more adorable when you look like that too" the pinkette giggled.

Miku gulped.

"I...er...uhm...thank you...but I don't think so..." she responded with her head held low, slightly shaking in disagreement.

Luka couldn't believe, that this girl sat before her, the girl she'd watch act so kindly and respectful towards a person in need, had such a low opinion of herself. It just didn't sit right with her. And to top that off, she couldn't take a compliment. This only told her that she didn't receive them enough and wanted to be the one to shower her with nice thoughts.

Luka leaned across the table to close some distance between them,

"Well...I think you do Hatsune-san".

The tealette looked up and gave her a sincere smile. Just a few words from this woman and she'd given her butterflies. She hadn't met anyone as polite as Luka, but unlike her friends at school, she didn't feel like she was being pitied. Luka didn't make her feel like she was obliged to be nice or even try to make Miku feel good...she just did.

"Please, call me Miku" another smile grew, a little wider than the last.

"Ah, much better...Miku".

Luka felt better that she'd seen this beautiful girl smile, that she was the reason she was smiling now. She'd only ever seen her face red from crying so she decided that Miku's smile was the most wonderful thing she'd ever seen.

"Y-you too...have a..." Miku trailed off, mumbling inaudibly.

"I'm sorry? What was that Miku?".

"Ah, um...I said...you also...have a wonderful...smile...".

Luka's heart pounded heavily at her words but it felt light and fluttery at the same time. Sure, she'd gotten a lot of unwanted attention from men and been thrown the odd genuine compliment here and there, but absolutely none of them could compare to the way those words made her feel.

As their conversation flowed over the next hour, Luka found herself further drawn in to the young teal haired girl.

She'd smile every time she smiled, laugh every time she laughed.

She scrutinized her alluring features. Oh how she adored her long, black eyelashes fluttering away as she nervously spoke, her big beautiful, gleaming, teal eyes radiating her beauty, her soft, supple lips that looked so kissable, her delicate little fingers that were begging to be held. Every now and then when someone walked past, they brushed along in the air the scent of Miku and Luka indulged in it. The strong –yet not overpowering- smell of berries was one she would not want to forget so soon.

However, there was something standing out from the rest of Miku's body that Luka just couldn't keep her eyes from sneakily inspecting; the dark bruising on the girls wrist. She swore she could make out the markings of fingers, as if she'd been grabbed and handled inappropriately but she didn't want to jump to awful conclusion. The pinkette knew she shouldn't pry, but it was immensely bothering her. Such a large, deep and fairly evenly rounded bruise could not have accidentally been made by oneself.

"Um, Miku...if you don't mind my asking..." Luka began rather cautiously, and she met with Miku's quizzical but anxious eyes.

"How did you get that bruising? It looks rather deep?" her eyebrows furrowed with concern but her face remained gentle.

Miku was caught off-guard at the sudden question. She herself had forgotten about the mark after becoming so entranced with the engaging conversation. She didn't really want to tell the older woman, but she didn't want to leave her feeling like she wish she hadn't asked. She paused for a moment before replying as neutral as possible, "Ah, well... we were rock climbing in P.E class and my foot slipped, you see..." she looked up and noticed that her acquaintance seemed unconvinced but nevertheless she carried on, "My foot slipped and my friend grabbed my arm to stop me from falling..."

Luka knew that Miku was lying. For one, it was just so obvious from here tone of voice and expressions. Second, it just seemed so forced and thirdly, there were so many holes in her story that screamed 'lie'. For instance, Luka was well aware that safety precautions meant that students had to wear safety lines specifically designed to stop someone from falling. She understood the tealette obviously wasn't ready to share her story and let it be before changing the topic after taking note of the younger girl's discomfort.

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Considering how nervous the older woman made her feel, Miku spoke as if she'd been great friends with the woman for years. There was something about her that was unlike anyone else. It made her feel safe and warm inside.

She couldn't help but notice that every time Luka spoke to her, it was like she was singing. She was so entrancing, so charming. She was captivated by her big, piercing blue eyes that were so gentle and often became self-aware multiple times that she was becoming lost in them like the calm ocean.

Miku smiled and laughed and smiled again. She couldn't remember the last time she felt this happy. She couldn't remember the last time she truly forgot about the hateful world around her. She loved it. She never wanted it to end.

"So with summer vacation already here, do you have anything planned? Going out with friends? Going abroad?" Luka inquisitively asked, in truth, she just wanted to know if the tealette was free anytime soon.

She put a finger to her mouth and looked up into the blankness of the ceiling and Luka had to keep herself in check to stop herself from squealing at how cute Miku looked.

"Um, no. I'm not going anywhere. I don't really have anything specifically planned I guess?".

"Great! Then how about we meet up like this again sometime soon? I'd love to stay and chat but I have cleaning to do" Luka sighed, truly not wanting this meeting to ever end.

Miku was shocked. She was shocked that this elegant beauty wanted to sit and talk with her the first time but to want a round two? It was simply unbelievable.

"A-are you sure?" Miku stuttered incredulously.

Luka furrowed her brows, unsure of why the girl had to ask.

"Of course cutie, do you have a number so I can get a hold of you?" Luka held her phone out for Miku to put in her number and waited expectantly.

Miku's heart couldn't beat any harder; it might just beat its way out of her ribcage. But reality soon brought her back to the face the sad truth. Miku didn't own a phone, she wasn't allowed.

"I'm very sorry Luka...I don't own a phone"

Luka pulled back her arm with a slightly surprised expression. It was rather unusual for a teenager in this day and age to not have a mobile.

"Ok, how about we meet up in the park over the road on Sunday, say around 1 o'clock?" the pinkette offered and Miku's face lit up like a shining diamond.

"Of course, yes!" the young woman beamed, unable to contain her excitement.

"Great, I'll see you then. Oh! Don't forget to keep smiling, you look wonderful when you do" Luka whispered in her ear.

Warm breathe tickled Miku's ear ad neck, before she turned to reply Luka was gone. Turning back to the now eerily quiet table, she noticed that Luka had not taken even a sip of her coffee.

Continued in Ch.5