AN: Yay! My first rewiews! People don't exaggerate about those; they really made me very very very happy. I love you already!
I hope I made Kamina some justice in this one. He's almost too great a character to write about.
He Doesn't Look A Thing Like Jesus from the song "When We Were Young" by The Killers.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Chapter two: He Doesn't Look A Thing Like Jesus
In the end she never called. Of course she didn't. After sitting for a few minutes with the note in her hand she finally smiled to herself, shook her head and threw it in the trashcan, crumbling it.
She didn't feel sorry for the man – not that she didn't appreciate his effort and subtle planning, slipping the note in her hand like that – but with that kind of confidence her refusing probably wasn't that big of a thing. In fact, there was no way getting shot down by her was going to harm an ego like that! Maybe it was better that she chosen not to call him. Maybe it would even teach him a lesson about picking up girls so carelessly, like it was the simplest thing in the world. Not the best way to make a girl feel special, huh?
Soon Yoko forgot about the note and the man – even though he was the type to leave an impression – and concentrated on the few customers that came by. With the day gradually turning into early evening, Yoko finally finished her long day and set for home. No double shift tonight.
Paved streets bathed in the sunset, their usual gray color turning into beautiful reds and oranges and all the hues in between. The air was now at a tolerable temperature, making Yoko enjoy her short walk home. As she knew how limited The Shack's selection of groceries was, she went into a grocery store nearby her flat. Getting a few things for the evening as well as for tomorrow, she stepped back into the fading sunlight. She was in a rather good mood despite her day.
Back at home she took a short shower, fixed herself a quick meal and settled down in her little couch with a good book. It was only then that she remembered the encounter she had had today. Even though she wasn't going to call, it made the corners of her mouth curl slightly upwards. Nothing was going to come of it, but the man had given her something to think about, other than how many days of boredom were left before she could go back to school and her delightfully busy life. Where she didn't have time to think about these things and was fine with it.
Everything in that guy made her suspect that he was used to having success with females. He was confident; maybe even overly so, as well plain charismatic, not to mention this magnetic air about him that lured people in. No wonder if girls were attracted to someone like that, hell, she herself might as well be if she didn't know better. But she did know, and where a dozen other girls would've already picked up the phone, she wasn't going to.
What did the guy even expect? Just because he had been able to get a few girls with a simple smile, a cocky attitude and a bold first move, it didn't mean that it would work on every female thing that walked by. They didn't even know each other; how could he assume that Yoko trusted him, a complete stranger? It wasn't that simple. Not this time.
After musing silently over the ordeal for a few minutes, Yoko decided to forget the whole thing, thinking that it had been over the exact moment the man disappeared trough The Shack's door. Thinking it would be that simple.
But oh, how wrong she was. There was nothing simple about ignoring this particular man's advances.
A new day began. After her normal morning routines, Yoko was on her way to work. She was still successful in forgetting yesterday, thinking about nothing of special value, just getting ready to bear another shift.
Really now, vacations made her regret her decision about zero personal life. But she was going to suffer through this, just like she had suffered through every vacation before.
She arrived at The Shack, checked the store quickly, only to see that everything was where it should be. After a little while of organizing and changing into her uniform, she was ready to open and soon she was in her familiar position behind the counter. She stared intensely at the door, half convinced that if she stayed focused customers would come. Suddenly she didn't want to let this day slip away. She wanted to make it count.
Finally, business perked up a little. It wasn't much, but definitely livelier than yesterday. Yoko was already feeling better and the fleeting remains of the morning's anxiety slipped away. This wasn't so bad. She could survive this, even if she missed having friends and family around her.
Lunchtime rolled around by noon and luckily the store was empty. Yoko put a sign on the door inclining that she was taking a break and would be back in twenty minutes. She then prepared herself some leftovers from yesterday, picked up another magazine, even humming a little as she enjoyed her break in the backroom.
Then, like lightning from a clear sky, she heard the front door being slammed open. She sighed in irritation. Some people were just so selfish and impatient and it wasn't like there weren't other, bigger stores around…
"Sorry, we're closed right now!" She yelled, getting up and moving the curtain separating the backroom from the store.
"AH! It is you!" A loud voice shouted, almost making Yoko trip in her steps.
'What the hell…?' She felt irritated. What sort of moron had the right to barge in during her precious lunch break, only to spout nonsense? She, on the other hand, had every right to royally kick him out… She turned to face the intruder. Her face went blank.
Opposite her was the man from yesterday, pointing at her furiously and looking outright shocked.
"You weren't abducted by aliens or diagnosed with a deadly disease at all! What does this mean, woman?!"
Yoko was dumbfounded. This didn't make any sense… or to put it clearly, the man wasn't making any sense. The situation felt even more surreal compared to the man's behavior yesterday. Yoko liked to think that she was pretty adept at reading people, but she hadn't detected any signs of mental illness with him. Oh well, this was the final proof that she had been right not to call him. She steeled herself and asked calmly,
"What are you talking about?"
The man's eyebrows slid together and his forehead wrinkled as he leaned forward and peered sharply at Yoko. "Maybe you're suffering from amnesia. Short term memory loss." He then nodded. "That must be right, no one ignores the advances of a true man that easily…" His words trailed off and he nodded again.
Yoko sighed deeply and put her hands on her hips, staring at the man.
"Look mister," she stated sternly, "either you explain yourself a little more clearly or I'll have to ask you to leave. We're closed right now." There. That should do it – that was if the words would sink into his seemingly thick head.
They stared at each other until the man let his hand drop, and instead pointed at himself. "You remember me? You're not some suspicious clone of the redhead that was here yesterday?"
"Of course not."
At her words, the man's expression turned serious and intense, like he was about to give her a lecture.
"Woman, you're at least supposed to acknowledge it when a man puts himself out there! Did you lose the note? A true man will not accept any other explanation. " His words sounded ridiculous but he seemed to be dead serious. Yoko didn't know whether to laugh, cry, or to get angry.
"You've got to be kidding me. You came here for that? To see that I hadn't, what, dropped dead because I didn't call you? Are you seriously suggesting that any other solution didn't come to mind…? Like, for an example, that I wasn't interested?" She didn't especially want to be harsh, but the man's behavior was unbelievable. "Well I'll tell you now and the answer is no. I refuse. I refuse you and your phone number."
"Why?" The man countered without a beat. Without an ounce of uncertainty.
Yoko, on the other hand, couldn't utter a single word; stricken speechless from the astonishment at his response. "Why, you ask…?" Then she took a deep breath.
"First of all, we don't know each other. To be specific, I don't know anything about you." She explained, sounding rather frustrated. And she had every reason to be as other men would've gotten the clue already. '…I don't know anything aside from the fact that you're insane, that is.'
"We don't even know each other's names and–"
"Wrong," the man interrupted, "your name is Yoko."
Yoko frowned and glimpsed down where the sign telling her name was pinned to the front of her uniform.
'Damn. I forgot about that.' She sighed again.
"…Fine. I'll give you that. What do you want?" She gave in resignedly.
It was like the sun had come out after a long period of rain. The man's whole being lighted up with an ear-to-ear grin and the shocked and hurt expression vaporized into thin air. "A date."
Yoko insisted the urge to roll her eyes. He was like a little kid who got what he wanted after throwing a tantrum. And his smile was almost too bright to watch. Anyway, this moment was a turning point. She could either tell him no, throw him out and take her chances of him coming back tomorrow, or she could just accept and get back to work.
And Yoko might've been strong headed, but she wasn't stupid.
"Fine," she muttered. "But just to a movie, all right? No dinner or anything fancy like that. You can pick me up from here." She visibly winced when his smile widened even more. Wow, that should hurt by now.
"Lucky!" The man exclaimed, this time looking openly pleased with himself. "I knew I'd get you to agree. "
'Where's the luck in that…?' Yoko thought darkly but didn't say anything. Instead she just shook her head and even smiled a little, even if it was in a defeated way. "I guess you did. But I still don't know anything about you."
He chuckled and stuffed his hands into his pockets. "I'm Kamina. Don't worry about the movie. I'll pick something great. Besides, I have a feeling we'll be just fine. " He winked. If Yoko wasn't feeling so beaten in her own game, she would've thought the wink made him look terribly charming.
Kamina set something down on the counter. "Here's my number. Again. I'll pick you up at eight on Friday?" He took a few steps backwards, still smiling victoriously.
"Right." Yoko picked up the whole sheet of paper, where his number was written in big, bold figures. Kamina waved his hand once, turned around and disappeared through the door. Again.
AN: Oh no. What has Yoko gotten herself into? You'll just have to wait and see.
Next up is the date (gasp)of doom, and that means a longer chapter!