Pink

"Ne, Shiro, what should I do?" I ask the white dog lying in front of me, as I stroke his fur. His brown eyes look at me with what I take to be pity, but he says nothing in reply – of course. I sigh and he licks my hand.

"Thanks." I give him a scratch behind his ear.

xXxXxXx

The following day, I get to school and right before entering my classroom, I take a deep breath. The door slides open before I finished collecting my thoughts and who is it but Kurosaki-san.

"Oh, good morning." He says with an earnest smile. How can I let this go on any further? He seems like a nice person… I definitely can't let him get hurt at my expense.

I steel myself, and look him straight in the eyes.

"Good morning! Actually Kurosaki-san, could you come with me? I want to talk to you and give you your reply."

He rubs the back of his neck sheepishly, and I can see the tips of his ears are red.

"Yeah, sure."

I lead him to the roof, and as luck would have it, nobody else is around. Thank you, wintertime.

I take another deep breath before I turn around to face him. Though I am usually not the type to be shy, I am not used to answering love confessions.

As I turn around, I see Kurosaki-san, waiting expectantly. He smiles a bit bashfully, and I can tell there is a little nervousness in him.

I can't help but notice how tall he is again. I'm 162cm, which is pretty average for a girl my age, and he has to be at least 182cm.

"Did you drink a lot of milk when you were a kid?" I blurt out by accident.

He looks startled yet amused, and says, "What?"

"Oh, shit. Sorry. Never mind. Ignore that." There I go again with the word vomit.

Okay… Here goes nothing.

I bow deeply and say:

"Kurosaki-san, thank you very much for your feelings. They have made me very happy since this is the first time I have ever been confessed to. Although I am afraid I cannot return your sentiments. With the life I live, I have no right to have a boyfriend."

To my surprise, he laughs a little. The laugh seems a little sad and my heart feels like it's being tugged by an invisible string.

"I figured you would say something like that… Okay. I understand. Thank you for answering me." He bows back at me.

"Although, I would like it if we were friends at least." He glances at me to gauge my reaction.

Once again, I am surprised. "Oh, well, if you want this pitiable person to be your friend then by all means. Please take care of me." I bow again.

He laughs again, this time a bit more naturally. "Likewise."

We return to the classroom. I go back to my desk alone. He goes back to his, and almost immediately his friends crowd around him, the centerpiece that he is.

I knew it. We live in different worlds. How could we ever have gotten together?

"Ryu, what was that about? Did you get confessed to or something?"

"Yeah, from that girl? I heard some weird stuff about her…"

These guys are not super tactful in their inquiries. I can hear them even from across the room, and I bet, so can everyone else.

I pretend to double-check my homework.

"No, that's not it at all. I confessed to her and I got rejected. That's all."

Kurosaki-san said, in a loud voice. Probably on purpose, seeing as that's the type of guy he is.

Murmurs of disbelief pervade the classroom. Then the teacher walks in, and everyone settles down.

What a welcome interruption.

I glance outside, and the sky is gray, looking heavy with what will become snow. I can't help but to feel a tinge of regret as the clouds move past.

xXxXxXx

After school, I stop by the local bookstore. When the weather gets warmer, I think I will take a shot at replanting those flowers in the schoolyard. Just the thought of colorful blooms puts me in a better mood.

As I browse the books in the gardening section, I am a little overwhelmed. Who knew there would be so many books on the subject? I grab one that looks simpler than the rest and start reading the back.

All of a sudden, I feel a tap on my shoulder. I turn around. It's Sohma-san.

"Hello Fukazawa-san, what a pleasant surprise to see you here." He flashes his princely smile at me.

"Hello Sohma-san, it certainly is a surprise. What are you doing here?"

"Well, I do a bit of gardening at home and I was looking for a particular book on strawberries."

I hand him three books about strawberry cultivating.

"Maybe it's one of these!" I have already spent a considerable amount of time at the store, and could probably locate anything in the gardening section.

I can tell he is a bit taken aback, but grabs the books anyway.

"Wow, actually it is this one! Thank you. You've made my trip much easier." He picks out the second one from the bunch. He smiles at me again, and it feels quite genuine.

I blush a little, his smiling face is just too cute. I can definitely see why those girls fawn over him the way they do.

"Do you enjoy gardening as well?" He asks me.

"Oh… haha about that. I have never done it before. But I have noticed some dead flowers behind the school, and I kind of want to fix them up when it gets warmer. It's none of my business probably…" I laugh awkwardly and tuck my hair behind my ear.

He lights up with an enthusiasm I have never seen on his face at school.

"That is a very noble thing to do Fukazawa-san! I think it's amazing that you would go out of your way to do that. There is nothing quite like the feeling of growing something with your own hands…"

Wow. I had no idea Sohma-san was so passionate about gardening. Very interesting.

Maybe…

"Sohma-san! Would you please help me with restoring the flowers? I have no experience in this matter and would appreciate your guidance!" I begin to bow instinctively, before Sohma-san grabs me by the shoulders and straightens me.

"I would love to." He says. Despite his thin frame, he is surprisingly strong. Then, as if realizing what he has done, immediately takes his hands off my shoulders and blushes a pale pink.

How innocent.

"Ahh apologies Fukazawa-san. I did not mean to touch you so casually."

I laugh a little. "That's okay Sohma-san. I am not worried about it."

He smiles back at me and says, "You're very kind."

After I stammer out a flurry of denials at his compliment, he helps me pick out a book about the basics of gardening.

We pay at the front, and afterwards we say our goodbyes and go our separate ways.

As I walk away I feel the hotness of my face and wonder if he noticed at all.

Man. I'm in trouble.