Burger Runs

A/N: I will finish this story sometime! I've got another MomoKai story to wrap up.


Kaidoh's heart is racing, it's pumping blood through all of his veins, warming up his entire body. It's hot. It's really hot outside, but Kaidoh doesn't stop running just because it's hot. Besides, he's focused, concentrated on the vibrations of his shoes hitting the pavement, and the way this cheerful girly voice is talking in his ears.

There's a set of black earbuds in Kaidoh's ears, the cable swishing violently as he runs, trailing down to his pants, where he keeps the MP3-player. It still embarrasses him, he thinks everyone else can hear what he's listening to, but he's got the volume down really low, so only he can barely hear it. It's for the best; he'd be mortified if anyone could hear this ... this ... Mimi-chan Makes a Friend thing.

Kaidoh stops at a park bench to take a small break to intake some water. He pulls out a bottle of water from his other pocket and starts chugging down half the thing as he listens to it.

The best thing you can do is smile! Smile a lot, look them in the eyes and smile. It'll make them feel good, and they'll like you faster. No one hates a person that smiles after all.

Smile, huh. It's not something Kaidoh really does ... he's tried it a couple of times, smiling to people, but they just end up freaking out, or being scared because he looks scary and unnatural. Well, it feels unnatural to him, of course it'll look weird if he forces it! He just doesn't smile a lot, especially to people who make fun of him or are scared of him. It's stupid. But if Mimi-chan says so ... maybe it's not a bad idea. It'll be good for a first impression ... but Kaidoh doesn't want the first impression to be one where they are horrified to see him smile, and give them nightmares or something. No, that'd be terrible.

He doesn't want to end up embarrassing himself in front of Momo, or give him nightmares. That would be less than ideal.

Kaidoh wonders if Momo has ever heard of Mimi-chan, and took tips from her—his smile is really natural and so friendly and inviting. It makes him feel fuzzy and good. Maybe Mimi-chan has a point ... but he sucks at smiling! He can't smile like Momo can, he's sure he'll scare him off instead.

Keep making eye contact with them. It'll show you're interested in them, and they are more likely to notice you. Smile when they catch you looking at them, and act coy and maybe even slightly embarrassed.

Kaidoh huffs; he doesn't need to act embarrassed, Momo looking back at him sends piercing needles through his heart and his entire face turns red. He doesn't want to be caught staring! That would be creepy, as if Kaidoh is just zooming by Mos Burger every week, looking at him, hoping they can be friends. And that's not what it is, it couldn't be further from the truth.

Kaidoh hits rewind on the MP3-player and listens to that Mimi-chan has to say again.

He caps his bottle and goes back to his run. Today is Monday, so no Momo today. His ears turn crimson when he knows that if he really wants to see him, he knows he goes to Seigaku ... But that would mean he's really a stalker—and he's not! Running by Mos Burger was his original training route, so it wasn't like he started running there for any kind of suspicious reason.

Not that Kaidoh has done anything suspicious in his mind.

When he gets home, he stands in front of the mirror in the bathroom and looks at himself. He's stocky, his growth spurt having extended all his limbs excessively longer, and it makes him look like he feels awkward to be in his own body. Which is exactly what it feels like; awkward. He's got muscular arms from practicing too many tennis swings, and his calves are very pumped with muscle because of all his running. And let's not talk about his face ... which is very sharp, ghastly, and he's got high cheekbones, thin eyebrows, a pointy nose, big lips, and scary looking eyes.

And are those pimples!?

There's no way Mimi-chan's advice would apply to him ... he can't smile. It would look weird. He already looks weird!

Kaidoh sets his hands against the mirror, looking himself in the eye, it almost seems like he's challenging himself. He tries to lift up the corners of his mouth, to spread them into a smile. The muscles twitch and struggle as if they've never been used before, but then he manages to lift them up a bit into what should be a smile.

It looks like he's some sort of psychopath and he's about to murder his victim.

Great.

Kaidoh sighs and bumps his forehead against the mirror. This is not going to work. He can't appear friendly, not with this body, not with his scary face. He's heard it plenty of times before; scary snake, rapist, murderer, ghost, delinquent, monster etc. Those are just a few excerpts of the names he's been called almost daily by his peers. It doesn't just stop at teenagers though, one time he had tried to help an old lady cross the street ... When she saw his face, she screamed for help, and then managed to get a police officer involved. It was probably Kaidoh's most embarrassing and mortifying day of his life, not to mention most depressing.

Would Momo do the same thing to him? Think he's scary as well? Not that Kaidoh would blame him. His reflection looks back at him, with slight worried eyes. It's only natural that he would ...

Kaidoh can't smile at him and scare him off ... that would be awful. He'd feel awful.

He finally tears himself away from the mirror of the bathroom, and goes back to his own room. He grabs the MP3-player, pulls out the earbuds (the MP3 has a built-in speaker, which is nifty for when Kaidoh is alone) and starts listening to Mimi-chan again. Mimi-chan probably never had to think about looking scary, and how it would make other people form opinions about her before they even knew her. No one ever gets a good first impression of Kaidoh. Mimi-chan is probably a really sweet looking girl—she'd never have trouble getting someone to like her. Or at least, they won't run away in terror if they see her face.

For the rest of the night, Kaidoh listens to the advice, though he seriously doubt it would ever work on him. In the morning, he tries to pop a few pimples on his forehead and cheek. Which end up not popping at all, and now they're inflamed and red, and even more noticeable. Ugh. He tries to hide it by making his bandana cover more of his forehead than usual, almost completely swallowing up his eyebrows. It doesn't cover up the one on his cheek though.

There's this anxious feeling in the pit of his stomach, it feels heavy and it's making him nervous. But Kaidoh's also feeling sort of happy—happy at the chance of seeing Momo again after last week.

Then he remembers the throbbing red pimples on his forehead, and he kind of wants to crawl underneath a blanket and never come out again. Whereas Momo looks radiant and friendly, Kaidoh looks like trash. He's ashamed he looks so ugly.

But Momo smiled at him. So that gives him just a sliver of hope, that maybe, just maybe, Kaidoh can be ... sort of ... like ... perhaps they can be ... like ... acquaintances. Yeah, maybe. Kaidoh hopes that when he runs by Mos Burger again, Momo will be sitting there once more, smiling at him like Kaidoh is someone he knows, and maybe ... likes. Kaidoh can feel the tips of his ears turn crimson at just the thought of it. Great, now he's day dreaming, he should focus on his run.

When the red logo of Mos Burger comes into his view, his stomach twists into all possible directions, and he yanks his bandana to cover his forehead even more, ashamed of his zits. His pace slow down, almost to the point where he's just walking really fast. Maybe that's a bit too obvious ... not that Kaidoh is really thinking about hiding his leering.

Oh great, now he's calling it leering? Well ... not that there isn't a much better word out there to describe what Kaidoh does each week. He hopes Momo won't think of it like that, if he ever notices.

Speaking of Momo.

The window flashes by, and Kaidoh's eyes flick to the right to look at the red seats where Momo is usually seated. And he is, wearing his summer uniform this time (it is July after all), leaning on the palms of his hands, looking bored, having no plate of hamburgers in front of him, and the other student doesn't seem to be with him. How strange, is he waiting for someone? Maybe that short boy from before?

Then Momo decides to look out the window, and sees Kaidoh staring at him. Oh no—not again! Kaidoh can feel his cheeks heat up, but this time, he doesn't turn his head away, instead he looks at the ground, and studies Momo in the corner of his eyes. He seems to be smiling, at what, Kaidoh isn't sure, but he hopes that smile is meant for him.

And within only four seconds, Kaidoh has passed the big window of Mos Burger, and that's all the time he gets with Momo every week. Four seconds, that's as slow as Kaidoh can go without looking like he's walking. He wonders what it'd be like if he could spend longer seconds with Momo. What if he can smile at Momo too? No, he can't do that, Momo would think he's disgusting. Kaidoh grumbles to himself and finishes the rest of his run.

Back at home, Kaidoh listens some more to Mimi-chan again.

Smile and catch their eye, when they don't look away, you can try to say hello, or any other greeting. Don't be pushy, but don't look away either. If they say hello back, that's already a good start! You can try introducing yourself next, and ask for their name too.

Kaidoh rolls over his bed and hugs his pillow to his stomach, curled up and listening to the MP3. Say hello?

He'd rather die.

Kaidoh has never sought out contact with anyone before. He's been forced to say hello under formal situations, or when having to address his teacher or classmates when asking for homework. But he's never gone out and say hello to a total stranger. Just the thought of saying hello to cheerful Momo makes him sick to his stomach from all the anxious and nervous feelings. And what if Momo doesn't say hello back? Kaidoh doesn't think he'd be able to deal with rejection or being ignored all that well.

If you don't know what else to say, you can always ask how they are doing, or perhaps what they do for a hobby. If they're still young and in school, ask them about homework and the clubs they are in. Find a subject that you can both talk about.

Tennis. That's something they have in common, Kaidoh thinks. He's seen the big blue tennis bag situated next to Momo at Mos Burger a couple of times, and of course, he saw him at Seigaku. He hasn't seen him play yet, but since he seemed to be wearing a regular jersey, it must mean he's good. Kaidoh's mouth curls into a tiny smile; he wants to play against Momo, that would be nice. Someone his age, and someone good. Or well, Kaidoh hopes he's good, as good as him at least. He'd be very disappointed if Momo didn't live up to his expectations. That is, if they would ever play against each other in the first place.

First he has to say hi. This is going to be a huge step for Kaidoh.

Later, Hazue catches Kaidoh making faces in the mirror (he was really trying to smile), and then congratulates him on taking Mimi-chan's advice. Kaidoh mutters under his breath that he isn't listening to that stupid thing at all, and goes to bed. The rest of the week, he practices his smiling skills, but doesn't make much progress. At least the pimples on his forehead have disappeared, but the one on his cheek is still there.

Another Tuesday rolls along, and Kaidoh is seriously reconsidering why he ever started listening to this stupid MP3-player. The cords keep getting stuck on things, and rip the earbuds out of his ears—which is actually really painful! Then after the fifth time it got stuck on a twig, he realizes he can stuff the cords in his shirt. Right, that way they can't get caught on something. Kaidoh feels stupid. He stops to take the earbuds out, then shoves them under his shirt. A passerby gives him a strange look, and quickly walks off. Kaidoh hisses, then fishes the earbuds out of his collar and puts them back in. There, that should do it. And now he should hurry, because these mishaps have set him back on his schedule, and he's worried Momo might not be at Mos Burger anymore.

Kaidoh kicks it into high gear, and sprints the rest of the way to Mos Burger.

He's so concentrated on getting there, so focused on that big window, that everything else becomes a blur to him. Nothing is really important, so he doesn't pay attention to anything else. Which proves to be a huge mistake.

Out of nowhere, someone walks in front of him, and Kaidoh is running as fast as he can, that he crashes right into them, and floor them. Kaidoh falls too, his hands and knees scraping over the pavement, and he can feel it pinch and hurt as it tears open his skin. He's stunned for a couple of seconds, sitting on his hands and knees still, shocked at the sudden impact. His head hurts too ... he must have hit it against the other person. Finally he regains his wits and he scrambles up, feeling awkward, and sort of off balance, his knees sting like hell. Even his elbows do.

"Damnit—" Kaidoh starts, looking at the other person still on the ground.

Then he swallows back his words, and not only does blood rush out of his open wounds, but also to his face.

"Shit, oh man, I did not see this one coming," says Momo with a nervous chuckle. He smacks his own face, looking up at Kaidoh, who is, well, completely frozen.

The person he ran into was Momo ... the person he rammed into with the strength of a speeding car, was Momo! Oh, someone please just kill him on the spot, he crashed into the one person he didn't want to crash into. He did not want their first exchange of words to be 'damnit' or 'shit'. His dream of saying 'hi' to Momo is shattered on the spot. Now what does he do!? Oh—right, help him get up. Think of your basic human decency skills, Kaidoh.

But Kaidoh's hand stings and feels sweaty at the prospect of holding Momo's, in fact, it makes him stand there like a stiff and unmoving solid piece of rock. He feels awkward and nervous, and he doesn't know what to do, except look at Momo with an awkward expression on his face, like he's a fish on land just flopping around aimlessly.

"Ah, you're bleeding!" Momo doesn't wait for Kaidoh to help him up (they'd be waiting forever if he did), and stands up straight, his eyes squinting at Kaidoh's knees. Then his eyes trail up Kaidoh's body, and suddenly Kaidoh feels exposed. Really exposed.

Is running away still an option? But then he'd look like a fool, trying to run with his knees all banged up.

"Even your elbows! Looks like you got hit the worst, come on, let's clean this up, and put a bandage on it or something," says Momo. Before Kaidoh can even protest, Momo's grabbed his wrist, and is tugging at him to come follow him.

Immediately Kaidoh feels heat rushing through him, like Momo is burning his wrist with the power of the sun. It's making his heart beat like crazy, and his hands start sweating even more.

Momo's hand is ... Momo's hand ...

Kaidoh can't keep a coherent train of thought, and he foolishly stumbles after the other boy as he pulls him towards the entrance of Mos Burger—is that where he came out of? Before he knows it, he's standing at a register, with Momo still holding his wrist, who is animatedly talking to the cashier to give them some first aid. Kaidoh feels flabbergasted, so out of place and awkward. What does he do? What does he do? He ran into Momo! He should ... he should ... he has no idea what he should do. The fact that Momo's fingers are curled around his wrist is making it hard for Kaidoh to think straight, in fact, it's pretty much taking up his entire thought process. Kaidoh's mind is spinning numbingly fast—he doesn't know what to do, doesn't know how to act, doesn't even know how to react!

What did Mimi-chan say again? Right, make eye contact, and smile. Kaidoh tries his hardest to pull his stupid lips into a smile, and he's looking at the side of Momo's face—this isn't working if he's not looking at him too! Stupid Mimi-chan!

But then Momo does turn his head, and raises then lowers his eyebrows at Kaidoh. He swiftly turns his head back at the cashier.

"Come on, can't you see that guy is in pain!? Look at that grimace on his face! Go get the first aid kit!" he yells at the man.

Kaidoh wants to die. He sputters dejectedly, and even hisses—which he abruptly cuts off; he doesn't want Momo to hear him hiss. He figures it's best to shut up and not say anything at all, in fear of making an even bigger fool out of himself in front of Momo. Who is taking the initiative like there's no tomorrow, barking at the cashier, who finally leaves the register and goes to fetch the first aid kit.

It happens all in a blur, but that's mostly because Kaidoh can't get over the fact that he ran into Momo, and Momo held his hand! Well, it was his wrist, but at the way Kaidoh's forehead is sweating bullets, it might as well have been his hand. In less than five minutes, the cashier has administrated first aid on Kaidoh's cuts and scrapes—with Momo half taking over and slapping a huge bandage on his knee, which sort of hurt, but Kaidoh was too stunned to object. After all, Momo was fussing over him, and that made his heart run a marathon.

And now they're sitting here, at the window, Momo sitting in his regular red seat, and Kaidoh occupying the one on the opposite side, covered in awkwardly placed bandages.

Kaidoh has never felt more awkward, embarrassed and mortified all rolled up into one, in his entire life before. And he's counting the incident when people took a picture of his underwear. Back then, he was only five, and had been wearing a blue dress, then he tripped and the dress flipped up over his head, leaving him exposed to the world. But nothing could compare to this.

"Sorry about all that, I kind of walked right out of the entrance without looking to see if I'd run into anyone," says Momo. He's already got a plate of hamburgers sitting in front of him (somehow he managed to place his order as Kaidoh was getting pestered with bandages), with a cup of soda in his hands.

What does he say to that? Mimi-chan never prepared him for a literal crash-in meeting. All he knows is how to introduce himself and ask how he's doing. Kaidoh looks outside of the window, not because there's something interesting on the other side, but because there's a huge zit on the left side of his cheek, and he's trying to hide it from Momo's view—he doesn't want to look ugly in front of him. Then again, he's already pretty banged up from his fall. Momo seemed fine, he only had a minor cut on his elbow, which didn't need any attention. At least that's one relief.

"Are you hungry? Here, take one of my burgers, it's the least I can do after causing you to crash and burn." Momo pushes one of the burgers off the tray, and towards Kaidoh. Kaidoh doesn't look at it, he's busy hiding his ugliness.

"Ah, not hungry. Well, these burgers still taste good when they're cold, so uhh, eat it whenever I guess. That one's my favourite, shrimp cutlet burger! Actually, all of the ones I ordered today are shrimp cutlet ones. I'm kind of celebrating."

Kaidoh purses his lips as he stares at his reflection in the window. It's kind of weird to know this is what Momo sees every time he walks by here. He can really see everything. That means Momo saw everything about him. The thought of Momo knowing him, and how he's stared at him every single time makes his stomach flutter with annoying sparks. He tries to wipe his sweaty handst off on the red velvet of the bench he's sitting on. He still doesn't know what to say, or how to act, and Momo's pretty talkative and Kaidoh has no idea what he's talking about anymore. It's not that he naturally doesn't listen to people or something, Kaidoh is usually very alert, but his rationale has been scrambled up, and he really has no clue on what to do. He's so confused by this entire sudden meeting. He doesn't want to do anything to make Momo hate him. He wanted their first meeting to be perfect, but now his dream is all shattered.

"Not much of a talker, are you?" says Momo with a shrug of his shoulders. He's still smiling though, that friendly smile which Kaidoh has only been able to see through a glass pane, but now he's really sitting in front of him, and even talking to him.

"Uhh," Kaidoh mumbles. He wants to say something, anything really, otherwise he'll just continue to look like a freak, and that's the last thing he wants to be known as. Mimi-chan said to maintain eye contact and smile to them, but Kaidoh can't look straight him at! He'd see the ugly red pimple on his cheek, which is embarrassing. So instead, he tries to smile again, lifting up his lips in what he thinks passes as a smile.

Momo turns his head to look outside. "Huh, something funny outside?" he asks, curious.

Kaidoh growls and tears his eyes away from the window. No, stupid, he's trying to smile and appear friendly.

Then Momo looks back at him again, and once more Kaidoh feels put on the spot. "The name's Momoshiro by the way, Momoshiro Takeshi. But you can call me Momo like everyone else does!" he says in a cheerful and friendly voice that makes Kaidoh feel welcome.

Aha, so his actual name is Momoshiro, and not just Momo. Kaidoh knew it was only a nickname, no one is actually called Momo, but it is a nice nickname. And his first name is Takeshi, how befittingly normal compared to such an outlandish guy like him. Then after Momo stares at him for a little bit longer, Kaidoh realizes he's waiting for a response.

"Uhm. Kaidoh," says Kaidoh in an awkward voice. His throat feels dry and he tries to cough and clear it out. "Kaoru," he finishes in a soft mumble. He feels shy having told his name now, like he's been completely exposed, and Momo knows his name and can tell everyone what a freak he is. He turns his head even more away, as if he can still somewhat hide the identity of his face. He wants to pull his bandana over his face and pretend he's not there.

"Heh, I've got a girl in my class named Kaoru," says Momo. He's smiling as he plays around with the straw in his cup. "She likes it when I call her Kaoru-chan. Thinks it's cute."

Even though Kaidoh knows he's not talking about Kaidoh himself, it still makes his cheeks turn pink hearing Momo say his first name so shamelessly. "Kaidoh is fine," he grumbles. Kaidoh is pretty sure he'd die on the spot if Momo would call him something embarrassing like that, and for one he's not a girl. He'd rather he didn't remind Momo of a girl ... what if he's just like those guys back in elementary school? Calling him girly and 'K-chan' with a pretentious and mocking air? That'd be terrible. No, he has to appear manly now, he doesn't want Momo to have those same reactions as all those other stupid kids from before.

Momo looks like he's choosing to ignore what Kaidoh said just now. He slurps up some soda from his cup before putting it down, and grinning at Kaidoh. "What kind of music are you listening to?" he asks, and points at the black earbuds dangling from Kaidoh's collar.

It takes a second before Kaidoh realizes what he's talking about, and anxiety starts spreading around inside of him like an accelerated poison. "N-nothing!" he squeaks out and hastily puts away his earbuds by stuffing them down his shirt. Momo can't ever know about Kaidoh listening to Mimi-chan! Never!

Momo raises his eyebrow at the reaction, and Kaidoh shuffles closer to the window, wishing he could disappear. "What, is it something embarrassing?"

Yes.

"Nature ... sounds ..." says Kaidoh, after contemplating what kind of answer he could give to Momo so he'd stop asking him.

"Haha, what's with that? Are you an old man or something?" Momoshiro says with a laugh. That laughter makes all of Kaidoh's insides gooey and restless. "Well anyways, Kaidoh, I've got something to ask you." He sits a bit closer to the table so he can lean in closer to Kaidoh.

This just makes Kaidoh squirm in his seat, he likes his space! He can't handle strangers invading his personal space—much less the one guy he's been sort-of-but-not-really stalking. "W-what?" he asks, and wants to punch himself for stuttering.

"Well, you see, I wanted your opinion. I've got this friend, or well, best friend really, his name is Echizen. And I usually ask him to come eat burgers with me here." Kaidoh nods; he's already known about this for a while. "But today—of all days, it had to be today—he didn't want to come. Does that make him a bad friend?"

"Uhh." Kaidoh has no idea how friends should even act, let alone know if one is a bad friend. How can he even answer that sort of question? Wait, maybe he should think about this logically. If Momo's friend didn't come today then ... "Maybe ... he didn't have the money?" Kaidoh offers, using awkward hand gestures, and when he's done making the gesture, he has no idea where to put his hands anymore. Is this normal?

"Hah, no way, that brat was just being a dick. I offered to treat him, because guess what, today is my birthday—and he still didn't come with me! That makes him a bad friend, right? Do you think I should get a new best friend?"

Inside, Kaidoh is screaming; pick me, pick me, pick me. But then he realizes Momo shared a vital piece of information with him; his date of birth. Kaidoh lowers his face so that his chin almost touches his chest, almost shy at knowing this kind of sensitive information already. So it's Momo's birthday today. Today is what ... July 23? He stores it in the back of his mind, as with all the other information he's gathered today. It's like his grossly infatuated Momo corner, where he keeps all of his information.

Wait, doesn't this mean he should congratulate him with happy birthday? He's sure Mimi-chan would approve.

"Nah, I guess I should just not give him anything on his birthday as well either. He's such a sucky friend. Maybe it's because he's lived like most of his life in America. Maybe Americans are just assholes, what do you think?"

Kaidoh's never met any Americans before, so he has no idea. He stays quiet, not quite knowing what to say to these weird questions, and he's also trying to come up with a way to congratulate Momo for his birthday, without seeming too creepy. Why did Mimi-chan not prepare him for this!? Kaidoh likes being prepared, he doesn't like being caught off guard. This entire change meeting has thrown him into a tizzy.

"Then again, most Americans are fat, and Echizen's a skinny little brat—even though he eats burgers as much as I do!" Momo looks very engaged with what he's saying (Kaidoh's looking at his reflection in the glass, he still can't muster up the courage to look at him directly).

Kaidoh is still wondering how he can wish him a happy birthday, because he feels that would be polite, and because he feels kind of awful for not having bought a present for Momo.

Not that they are friends or anything.

He kind of wishes they were though.

Momo continues talking as if Kaidoh's just an unresponsive wall, and that means he's giving the green go at whatever he wants to ramble about. Kaidoh doesn't mind; he secretly enjoys hearing him talk to him and sounding so at ease. The complete opposite of what Kaidoh is feeling right now; awkward, rigid, and really shy, too. He can't even tell him happy birthday, yet Momo has no problems telling a stranger about his problems with his best friend. Kaidoh wonders if he can just keep quiet, and let Momo do all the talking—he seems to like the sound of his own voice. Kaidoh doesn't want to ruin his good mood by saying something stupid (not that he knows what to say in the first place). Or showing him his ugly zit and scaring him away for good.

No, he'd rather just sit here in silence, face turned away, so that he can keep hearing Momo talk. It almost feels like a fantasy.

"I seriously have to wonder how he can stay so scrawny! I mean, We eat about the same, okay, well, I eat a bit more. Just a tiny bit—but it's still almost the same! And I train and work out every day, while he just sits on his genius little prodigy ass and wipes the floor with us regulars. It's stupid. How does he not get fat? He's got American genes, he should get fat!" Momo huffs and puffs, and decides to stare out of the window as well. "Why do you keep looking outside? Oh! I'm sorry, do you have someplace to be?" Momo asks, suddenly sounding concerned.

Kaidoh quickly, almost violently, shakes his head. No, he's not busy—he's completely free! Open as a book! Please continue talking! "N-no," he says grouchily, and hates how he's stuttering again.

"Or do you want to go back to your jogging? Well, don't let me keep you—I just feel bad for that collision, 'tis all. You can still eat my burger though, if you want."

"No ... it's fine." Kaidoh fidgets on his seat as he contemplates turning his head away from the window so he'll look less suspicious, but then Momo can see the throbbing zit on his cheek ... "And uhh ... I ... can always resume my running later." Speaking of running; how did Momo know he was?

"You sure? You seem like a punctual kind of guy, always here at the exact same time every week! Are you sure I'm not messing up your schedule or something?" Momo stuffs some fries in his mouth as he says this, so it ends up sounding a lot like ghrwrrabbally at the end.

Huh, wait a second. Same time every week? Momo knows about that? He knew Kaidoh's schedule? Now his entire cheeks turn red along with his ears, and he quickly props his elbows up on the table to hide his face behind his arms. This is ... why is this making him feel so gleeful and happy, knowing that Momo has at least paid a little attention to him all this time? It feels ... really nice. It feels more than nice, like a warm liquid flowing through him. Is this what the beginning of a friendship feels like? Kaidoh sure hopes so, he'll have to buy all of Mimi-chan's tracks if it's true.

"You ... know?" Kaidoh asks carefully, like he's treading dangerous territory. More or less, he wants to ask what else Momo knows. Maybe he remembers all the times they've locked eyes together ... though that's a bit of wishful thinking on his part. Kaidoh certainly remembers though, remembers each time with perfect clarity. If anyone asks, he could probably name how many teeth Momo has—because the image of his grin is so burned into his memory, he won't ever forget it. And now that same Momo is here, right in front of him!

Momo stops chewing and swallows, looking at Kaidoh with a blank look.

"Well, yeah."

That guy sure is blunt, doesn't beat around the bush at all.

"I mean, I see you run by here every week. You don't see many teenagers jogging around, you know. Especially one that wears a bandana!" Momo laughs, and its vibrations are ricocheting off of Kaidoh's ribcage, feeling like it's powering his heartbeat.

Kaidoh shyly fingers the ends of his bandana. "I just like wearing it ..." he says. Now he wishes he could pull it down to cover his entire face, because it feels hot, red and still ugly.

Momo also props his elbows up on the table, clasping his hands together and leaning his chin on it, giving him this playful smirk.

"So I noticed."

"Uhh." Kaidoh kind of feels like the world is about to end. Not only did he run into the guy he-wasn't-really-stalking-but-sort-of-was, and the same guy is now professing that he noticed Kaidoh from before? This is more than Kaidoh could ask for—he was fine simply seeing his smile behind the window, but this? Talking, and acknowledging he remembers Kaidoh ... it's almost too much for him. What should he say? What should he do? He wants to be Momo's friend, but it feels awkward to come out and say 'hey, let's be friends'.

"You know, drop by here next time! I'm here every week, I don't mind the company, especially since my best friend betrayed me. I'm sure you can take a little break from training all the time, right? You always look like you're working very hard! So take a break, come chill here at Mos Burger. And uhh, I'll treat you to a burger, I guess, if I have the money for it ... though I'm kind of broke at the moment, sorry."

If only Momo would stop talking so fast, then maybe Kaidoh could stay up-to-date with what he was actually saying, and could take the time to process it. As it is now, the spiky haired boy is firing off about ten words a second, and Kaidoh has trouble keeping up. So when he finally realizes what Momo has said, or rather, suggested—to come see him again—he drops his arms away from his face, his eyes almost bulging out.

Momo stops talking as he notices that Kaidoh has finally shown his face to him.

Kaidoh doesn't know how to process it. All of these weird and new strange feelings fill him up and he has no way of dealing with them. Did Momo really just say to come by next time? Did he really invite him over? It suddenly feels like his heart has jumped up in his throat, and is trying to burst out of his neck like some weird thumping alien that is dying to come out. Ew, what a gross image. He's completely perplexed; he and Momo meeting here next week? The thought is simply ludicrous, it makes Kaidoh's arms cover in goosebumps and he's sweating through the pores of his hands; and has no idea how to handle that kind of situation. It's kind of frying his brain at the moment, there's too many weird sparks zapping him. Mimi-chan didn't say anything about being invited to something, so Kaidoh clamps shut and does what he does best;

He runs.

He flees Mos Burger, knocking into several people on the way out, and runs out through the glass doors. He can hear Momo shouting at him, but within seconds, that's nothing but a lonely echo in Kaidoh's ears. He runs, runs so fast until he can hear nothing but the wind and his own heart which is beating so fast, Kaidoh thinks he might need to go see a doctor.

Kaidoh Kaoru, after finally meeting with Momo and talking to him, has ran away in the middle of their conversation.

That ... didn't go well.