Chapter 4 – There You Are
A happy man skipped under the beaming hot sun amongst the normal people. The crowd simply ignored this lunatic. A pair of black shoes clicked noisily against the pavement. One of those shoes would suddenly and randomly extend, causing someone to fall. But a soft hum radiated from the boy's thin lips, pretending that everything was just fine. He merrily pranced, causing the people to stare at him.
Ikebukuro was almost as hot as a furnace but this blissful lad was still wearing dark clothes underneath a black jacket. A warm smile seemed pasted on his ashen face. Was it still winter for Izaya?
In the middle of the crowd, his gleaming red eyes landed on a tall man with a mop of yellow hair. The tall man was walking while texting on his yellow mobile. He felt his heart bang riotously inside of his thin body. His smile broadened as he walked towards the blond.
He activated his plan and suddenly lept at Shizuo.
They both collapsed and hit the burning sidewalk. The yellow phone slipped out of Shizuo's left hand but was immediately caught by the other. Izaya cringed and expected a punch. But he never felt a powerful fist on his face. He slowly opened his eyes and stared at Shizuo. The blond sat on the sizzling path, hammering at the little buttons on his phone. When he felt Izaya's gaze at him, he just glared at him with his chocolate orbs.
Chocolate... I so want to eat that. But Izaya pushed away those thoughts. He knew he had to tease this short-tempered brute if he wanted to stay with him.
His lips parted wide but no words came out of his mouth. Shizuo raised an eyebrow, waiting for the smaller man to speak. He was annoyed because it was taking the flea so long to talk. He felt the urge of pulling out his tongue. The vision of this act looked comical in his head that he let out a chuckle.
"What the hell? Laughing at my new joke when I haven't started telling it yet? Shizu-chan's so weird." Izaya mocked but to Shizuo's surprise, the words didn't stab him. He just smiled at the thought of pulling this flea's oily tongue. He pictured Izaya with tears at the corner of his eyes as he was begging him for mercy. He laughed inside at those thoughts as he continued to type his message for the umpteenth time.
Can I fetch you at home?
Want to watch Saw 6 or Orphan?
Chocolate shake again?
What would you like to eat? (Please don't say tuna.)
The phone quivered in his hands. He couldn't come up with a message he really desired to say. He wanted to say so many things but he couldn't put them into words.
A low chuckle made the blond realise the flea's presence. He turned to gaze at his black haired foe. His face practically screamed the expression of annoyance.
"If I were you, I'd keep things simple. Be blunt. Tell her what you want to, what you feel like. Don't try to be fancy – be yourself, Shizu-chan."
"What..." Shizuo was shocked at what he had said. "... The hell are you talking about?" His mind couldn't understand why his rival always knew what to do. How could the raven possibly read his mind and understand the situation before he could even act? How could he know him better than himself?
Izaya's hand slipped inside the pocket of his pants. He fished out his mobile and flicked it open. Shizuo noticed his fingers had black nails while he fiddled with the buttons.
"I'm talking about this." The younger man shoved his mobile to the blond's face. His dark eyes widened in astonishment.
"How the hell did you get that picture?" Shizuo roared at the flea.
"The internet is my best friend, if you don't know that."
His jaw was slightly ajar as he stared at himself with the girl he met yesterday. It was their picture. Seeing her beautiful smile made his heart melt again. He realised that the shot captured his cheeks burning in red.
"So you think I should be myself, huh? You're mocking me. You know that I'm nothing but a stupid monster." He lowly said to Izaya as he pushed away his phone from his view.
"Look at her, will you? She looks besotted with this stupid monster called, 'Shizuo.' Don't you think so?" The raven teased. The taller man balled his free fist, ready to dig it into Izaya's face. But he realised... Izaya was right.
His clenched fist loosened and his annoyance completely left him. He looked at the small screen of his phone and smiled. He found the words to say. Faint beeping noises soon emanated from his phone.
"Good luck with your date." Izaya said, walking away. The raven expected the blond to run after him or hit him. He expected Shizuo to do anything. It was just unlikely that he would let him go as easy as that.
But Shizuo didn't even say farewell as Izaya stepped further away. He didn't shout his name like a lunatic (but Izaya adored the way he said it. It was so sexy.) He didn't even chase him.
His Shizu-chan was now busy chasing after a girl.