Shiro and Lance walked down the street in the cool morning air. The breeze and the sunrise were just right. Shiro was wearing a white dress shirt, with jeans and sneakers, and his hair was combed back, but not too much to where he looked like an arrogant idiot.
Lance, on the other hand, was wearing a polo shirt, blue jeans, and blinding white sneakers. He was also wearing black sunglasses, an aqua colored baseball cap, and a fake blond mustache. "Lance, you're not even blond, that literally makes no sense. You're going to scare her," Shiro chided.
"Your hair isn't even blond, the mustache makes no sense. You're going to scare her." They were heading to the dinner so Shiro could get Katie's number. Lance tagged along because he said he was a "ladies' man" and could help Shiro get his girl.
"Dude, why are you going undercover anyway?" Shiro asked his friend.
"You have a lot to learn, girls love it," Lance gave him a cheesy grin.
Shiro snorted. "I thought I was getting the girl and not you?"
"I am teaching you to be fast, because someone else could sweep her off her feet," Lance said boisterously.
"So you are going to steal her?" Shiro asked, a little confused.
Lance face palmed himself and then looked around. He saw a vendor selling flowers. He turned around and grabbed a single red rose and handed it to Shiro. "Give her this, girls love flowers. Who knows why."
Shiro looked at the flower and slowly took it. "Okay? But don't you think it's too early? I don't want to seem weird."
Lance snorted. "I made dinner reservations for you and your princess at 8:00 sharp, so we better hurry. Although, being late does have a cool factor," he mused. He walked ahead as Shiro was still puzzled.
"Um… I don't think you need reservations at the Diner. You want me to ask her out?" Shiro said lowly, wanting to hurt his friend.
"Hey, man, you're the one that used the LOVE word last night," Lance pointed out. "Maybe a rose or a meaningful kiss might convince her to fall for you too."
"I thought I was only getting her number tonight and I barely know her, other then she cute and pretty," Shiro started to get dreamy-eyed.
"So you were like what, drunk last night? May I quote, 'She's the one for me!'" Lance's smirk quivered, like he might erupt into laughter.
"I was not drunk, I was thinking about her… Can you blame me?" Shiro asked. "Is it normal for a guy like me to be thinking about someone like that?"
Lance nodded "I think about girls all the time, but… well, that's not true. I do say 'I love you' to all of them. But don't think for one second that that's normal!"
"Uh, right," Shiro gave him a strange look. "You date a new girl every week, and they dump you every week."
Lance crossed his arms. "I just haven't found the right girl. Trust me, she'll come, and she'll be wayyy hotter than - ahem. Today is about you, my friend." for
Shiro paused at the sight of the Diner, the wooden neon sign swinging out from the building. Shiro gazed at it. Lance smirked at Shiro and dragged him further to the Diner.
"Lance, what are you doing?"
"Destiny!"
Shiro managed to stop lance from dragging him further to the Diner. But he paused and saw Katie through the Diner windows. She was smiling and enjoying herself. To her, she was in slow motion, her honey brown hair in soft waves, her smile so bright it made his heart beat faster. She was having a pleasant conversation with one of the customers, it seemed.
"Easy there boy, deep breaths," Lance held Shiro up.
"Easy for you to say, you are used to it," Shiro said looking at him.
Lance ignored him, opening the door and pushing Shiro inside. No one hardly noticed him and Katie seemed to have her back turned to them. Lance saw a lovely girl sitting at a table.
"Good luck my friend," Lance patted his back, heading off to a table.
Shiro watched him leave with a scowl, and froze as Katie turned around. Her pretty eyes lit up when she saw him.
"Shiro! You sure look nice, on a date or something? Better not be! How are you doing?" Katie joked, blushing like a cute puppy, holding her signature coffee pot in her hands.
"Good…." Shiro said, forgetting what he wanted to say, lost in her beauty. Also because he smelled bacon.
Katie looked at him in concern. She walked behind the counter and grabbed a cup. "Here, on the house, it looks like you need something," she smiled pointedly and led him over to a counter stool.
Shiro sat down and held the warm coffee in both of his hands with a grateful nod. "Thanks." She slid into the seat next to him, surprising him. "What's up?"
"Er… nothing, really. I have this… rose," he handed it to her. She had a look of confusion on her face, before she peeked at it and took it into her small hands, and let out a short laugh. "Oh. Thanks!" She smelled it and sneezed.
Great, Shiro, you're really smooth. "I have this rose"? Seriously? I think Lance actually made your flirting game worse. Well, at least she accepted it, he thought to himself.
Katie smiled and headed into the kitchen to get a green little vase. "It's wonderful, Shiro, thank you," she repeated.
Shiro turned as red as the rose and looked at her. "Katie!" someone called from the kitchen, "Could you start another batch please?" Katie shrugged and touched Shiro's shoulder. "I'll be right back." Shiro sat there thinking about what to say.
Katie, I want to thank you for helping me with my project. Would you go on a date with me? No, that doesn't sound right. Katie, do you have the time to go on a date with me? Shiro, you are wasting time, you need to just ask her. You can do it man, Lance does this every day, so how hard could it be?
Shiro looked over to see Lance sitting next to a women, their arms around each other. He could hear Lance talking fluently in the language of puns and swag. Somehow the girl was impressed with him. Knowing Lance was not going to be helpful right now, Shiro turned back around and saw Katie looking at him.
"Shiro, are you sure you're okay?" Katie asked, leaning against the counter.
Shiro gazed into her eyes, his mouth was dry, and he suddenly could only think about her.
Oh gosh, I hope Shiro is fine. The poor guy seems lost inside his own head. He has not even taken a sip of his free coffee, should I push him to drink more? No, that would be rude! Katie, snap out of it, you need to help him. He's not only a customer, but he's also a kind and handsome friend. Did I just say that aloud? No I did not, thank god. Maybe some fresh air would help him.
Shiro looked lost in thought. Katie took off her apron and then found Coran cooking.
"Coran, I am taking an hour break, okay?" Katie said, carefully watching the old man's expression. Coran almost flipped the pancake too high and it nearly fell on his head. Katie giggled, giving him a small wave, and then headed back to Shiro.
"Come on Shiro let's go for a walk," Katie said, leading him out the door.
"Okay a walk sounds cool," Shiro said, snapping back to life.
Lance glanced away from the beautiful girl and looked to where he left Shiro. He and Katie were not there. Lance then looked at the door and saw them walking out and heading down the street. Smooth job, Shiro, you are one lucky dog. But you are still so young, and inexperienced, so I must go and help you. Even though there was a girl holding onto his arm. Lance gave her a wink, apologized, and walked out of the Diner, watching the two love birds ahead of him. Until another day my love.
Shiro and Katie walked beside each other. They seemed to be staring when the other was not looking.
"So, where are we heading?" Shiro asked, seeing how Katie led the way.
"Hmm, I don't know, wherever the road takes us," Katie giggled.
Shiro smiled, nodding his head. "Well it's taking us downtown to the park area."
"Ohh! I haven't been there in ages. You can always see the biggest clouds there. Let's feed the ducks please," Katie said tugging on Shiro like a father.
Shiro nodded. "That sounds nice." He paused. "Though I've never fed a duck before."
Katie gasped and then giggled. "Really? Well today is your lucky day."
"I guess so!" Shiro smiled, feeling a lot better than back at the Diner.
Katie and Shiro talked about classes and funny experiments they had to do, mainly the ones that did not turn out so well. Katie almost blew up the whole room and covered everyone with multicolored fizz. But she was proud of it. Shiro, on the other hand, practically barbecued the teacher, almost getting kicked out of the school. They kept on talking about the good times.
It took a while, but Shiro and Katie made it to the park. It was rich with green and life. There was a walkway, a bike trail, few people, and a dark pond in sight, surrounded by a few scattered trees. They both walked up to the pond. Its silvery water sparkled in the sun, though they both knew it was murky and muddy underneath.
"I brought some bread crumbs," Katie lamented cheerily, the cool breeze whipping her hair back. "Here." She dug a handful out of a patterned pouch that was in her pocket. "I snuck them out of the kitchen. Don't tell."
She gave him half, and crept up to the bank. There were a few quacking ducks gliding across the water, who saw her outstretched hand and curiously moved in her direction. Katie shot Shiro a wide grin, and he watched in fascination.
She gently threw some of the crumbs, and the ducks swam faster to eat them. She let out a glad laugh. "Ok, your turn," she nudged Shiro. He has heartedly tossed all of his at once.
"Shiro, that's not - you know what, never mind. Good job, pal." They didn't notice that one of the mallards was waffling onto land until it came within three feet.
"Aww, look, he came for more!" Katie waved. "They don't usually do that. He must like you. That seems fishy," she joked. Shiro was about to retort when the duck let out a shrill quack that startled them both. "That is one aggressive duck," Shiro pointed out.
It started waddling at them again, so they backed up. It waddled faster. Katie and Shiro kept backing up, getting closer and closer to the edge of the pond. Katie grabbed the sack of crumbs and threw it to the duck. The duck looked down, poking its bill into the bag.
"Are all ducks like this?" Shiro asked, looking slightly traumatized.
Before Katie could answer, she lost her balance. She tried to hold on to Shiro, but he fell into the pond with her with a huge splash. The birds that were on the water scattered.
"Oh, Katie, are you okay?" Shiro asked, swimming towards her.
"Ha, I'm fine, not the first time I've fallen in," Katie laughed. "Brr, it's cold!"
Lance got there just in time to see them fall into the pond. He laughed softly, and watched them talk more in the water, before splashing each other. He found the nearest park bench. Though, someone who was already sitting there was either looking at the pond or the kids who just fell in. Lance sat down and looked at the male.
"Hey, mind if I sit here?" Lance grinned at the male.
"Whatever," Neville said, and kept his eyes trained on the pond.
Shiro and Katie were completely soaked. They crawled out after a moment, and hauled themselves into the rippling grass of the sun. They breathlessly laughed at each other, seeing how they were both wet.
The duck was still eating out of Katie's pouch undeterred. "Do you want me to get that for you?" Shiro asked. "Nah, it's fine. That thing costed twenty-five cents, we can leave it here and trust that nobody's going to take it. Unless the duck eats it too."
They found a spot nearby and Katie unexpectedly dropped down, patting the spot next to her. Shiro complied. "Look up, what do you see?" He gazed up to the fluffy white clouds that were just appearing.
"Uhh… a shape." A heart.
Katie nodded. "Over there I see a castle, with six lions standing tall and brave."
Shiro looked carefully and started to see it. "Oh and over here, aliens!"
"Oh, you're right," Katie announced, getting closer to him, so that she was touching his wet body. "Sorry, it's cold."
"No, it's fine," Shiro commented.
Katie continued to look at the sky, "And there some mice..."
"Fascinating."
Katie rolled her eyes.
They continued to look up at the sky. The clouds went by slowly, but that meant more shapes. Shiro was about to point something out, when he noticed she fell asleep on him. Her head was rested gently on his chest. He wasn't sure how to react, so he studied her face. She did look tired. How late had she been up last night? She looked peaceful and happy, though.
"Aww," Lance grinned and leaned back. He saw that the other boy was watching the two people too, and wondered why. "Oh, you Katie's friend? Come to take pictures of their first date to show at their wedding?" he indicated the camera.
Neville smiled humorlessly. "Yes. I'm Katie's best friend."
"Sweet! High five! Shiro's mine."
"So that's his name?" Neville smirked evilly, trying to make his tone sound innocent.
"Yeah. Isn't it cool? I'll never tell him personally that it's cool, of course, but-"
"Do you really think that Shiro is the best for Katie?" Neville interrupted, reaching into his pocket.
"Totally! Don't you? That is why you're here, right? Stalkerish but overall just friendly support?"
"Yeah… I agree with half of that. How much does your best friend care for you?"
"I don't know. I thought we were talking about him and Katie."
"We were," Neville pulled out his knife. "And you know what, idiot? She's MINE. KATIE IS MINE!"
Before Lance could react, he was being stabbed by an insane person. He shouted "SHIRO!" but it came out as more of a pathetic squeak.
Shiro opened his eyes, he too was falling asleep. But Lance's voice snapped him out of it. Katie was still napping soundly against his chest. Shiro had to think fast. That sounded a lot like a panicked scream.
He tried to push Katie off of him and stood up, looking around wildly to find his friend. He managed to gently lay Katie down on the ground. He quickly went to look for his friend who was surprisingly close by.
Lance was laying dramatically on the ground, and Shiro thought he was being a drama queen as usual. He sighed and looked back to where he left Katie.
Neville was standing over her. Shiro gave the boy a strange look, and Neville walked away whistling, obviously pretending that he hadn't just been breathing down sleeping beauty's neck. Creep, Shiro thought.
Shiro decided to go to Katie and wake her up. "Sorry," he apologized. "My weird friend is acting like he got stabbed." Katie blinked her eyes open and looked to the boy hovering above her. "Oh… did I fall asleep on you?"
"You seem like you need more sleep, so it was okay," Shiro said, reaching out a hand to pull her up.
"You were right... I never went to bed… I've been working on trying to find… Oh my gosh, Shiro is that your friend?" Katie pointed to Lance. Shiro sighed and nodded. "He's a drama queen, but he likes it when I act worried."
"You should be," she gasped. "What? No, why?" Shiro chuckled. "I think he's bleeding," Katie said seriously.
He looked confused for a second before turning. "Crap!" He took off towards the bench with Katie.
"Lance, are you okay?" Shiro kneeled down next to him. "NO!" Lance shouted. "I AM NOT!"
Shiro checked the wound. It was not big, but it was enough to spill a little bit of blood.
"Calm down, buddy, it's not too bad. We'll take you to the hospital," he looked at Katie and she nodded. They tried to help him up. "Did you do it yourself? Like, on accident?" she asked Lance. "It was some crazy guy. He had a camera! And then suddenly a knife! HE STABBED ME FOR NO REASON! He said you're his best friend, too!"
"What…? I barely have any friends," Katie blurted out looking at them. "Well I mean I work all the time so… Beside the point! We need to find whoever stabbed you. This is atrocious!"
"He's long gone, we need to help Lance to the hospital right now," Shiro said, grabbing Lance's right arm and putting it around his shoulder. Katie did the same to the other arm.
TBC please review!