~~i forgot this existed HAHAHA–– haven't written anything new, by the way.

should i even continue this? my interest in this vocafandom is dying so... anyways, thanks for the favs+alerts!

chapter two

They were now settled inside of a café. The repairman had brought her car to the repair shop by the tow truck—they couldn't make it start right there, either, so they had to take it to the shop—and it was now being repaired. They said they might not be able to finish it on that day, so the two of them decided to leave and visit the café instead, just for some refreshment.

"You're sure about this?" He eyed the cup of tea being served to their table, then he muttered a quick 'thanks' which was returned by a nod from the waiter. "Well, let's just split the bill later—"

"No, no, no need to. It's my treat, really." She assured him for the umpteenth time. "I owe you for the ride. You know, you could just call the cab instead of driving me there, so I should at least pay you back with something."

He shrugged. "Well, if you're insisting. Thanks."

"No problem." He could see her smiling for a bit before she brought the cup up, covering his view to those moist lips. Ignoring his own cup, he watched her sipping the tea slowly. He found her somewhat attractive, he had to admit it. Not exactly perfect, but that silky teal hair, that alluring turquoise eyes, there was something about it that intrigued him, badly. And what woke him up from his reverie was her voice calling him, "You're not gonna drink yours?"

"Yeah, sure," he quickly took hold of the cup's handle and tried to take a sip of his own, completely forgetting the boiling hot tea in it.

She seemed to be unaware of his antics, and said something about his drink instead. "I thought you're gonna have some coffee."

"No, I," he paused as he tried to feel his tongue; it hurt, "don't take caffeines that well. Tea is still fine, but not coffee."

"Decaf?"

"I guess I'm already used to tea's taste." And yet he put his cup back to the saucer. He certainly needed a break to cool down his burning tongue. "And you?"

"Just feel like having a tea. Dunno, it calms me, like, it's gentler—since it tastes more like leaves and less like beans."

"That doesn't really make sense."

"Well, says one who gulps his boiling hot tea." She calmly said before taking another sip, licking her pink lips afterwards. "You're clumsier than you look."

"But at least I don't just stare at my car, waiting for it to magically work."

"Well, okay, you win." She giggled. "Anyways, you should get the decaf coffee next time. They serve the great ones here."

"So you're a regular." And he tried to have some more sip of the tea. Such a waste to leave his tea like that, even when his tongue was burning badly. But one sip was enough for him to regret his decision—he shouldn't drink the tea.

"Yup. I like it here, since it's lively and, well, there are people here." Her eyes surveyed the café, observing her surroundings closely. "It gets lonely sometimes when you're living alone, so here's my runaway."

He followed where her eyes went; a rather difficult thing to do as he was sitting in front of her, but he tried nonetheless. "So you're living alone?"

"Yeah, have been here for a while." She shifted her gaze to him. "And you?"

"I just moved here very recently. I mean, I used to live with my family before," he told her. "Only for some… a month? Around a month ago, yeah. It hasn't been that long, really."

She pulled a sly smile. "Hmm? So I'm guessing your family still calls you a lot?"

This girl knows a little bit too much… "Yeah." He then ran his hand through his blond hair. It was some habit he could not break, and shortly afterwards his hair would be in a disarray. No wonder he never considered brushing it in he first place, he would just mess it up again, anyway. He then heaved a sigh. "Mom even wanted to…"

… come to see me?

Right when it dawned upon him, his motion halted. "… Shit."

She raised an eyebrow. "What's—"

"Shit. Shit, I… totally forgot that…" At this point, what she could perceive was just some nonsense coming out from his mouth while the said guy was shifting his gaze around rather uneasily. After a while, he settled his eyes on her, and blurted, "I gotta go."

"That's so sudden," she replied, her calm voice contrasting his.

"I'm sorry, I really gotta go now." He quickly put a note on the table and stood up, making a final eye contact with her as he said a quick 'thanks' before he rushed to the door. And he didn't look back at all.

The time the last strand of his blond hair was gone from her sight, she looked away. It was rather lonely, now that she realized it—and funny at the same, considering the time she had spent alone in that place, only that time she just felt the loneliness.

She stared at the now unoccupied seat in front of her. The half-empty cup of tea and the note he left on the table once again reminded her that he was there.

"Although it's supposed to be my treat…" She took the note into her hands and stared at it. He left her with no choice that way, and realizing that, she couldn't help but smiling.

"What an interesting guy."

His mother made it clear that she was not happy having to wait for hours for him. While he was walking towards their table, her eyes were on him, and she tapped her fingers impatiently on the table. The fact that he showed up looking all disheveled wasn't helping, either. His shoulder-length hair was in a ponytail earlier just to make it at least presentable to his mother, but now it was falling off and flying everywhere from the rush.

Before he could even utter a single word of apology, his mother had started, "Len Kagamine, just how long do you think I've been waiting here? Five minutes?"

Len avoided her stare, finding his eyes fixated at the artificial plants on the windowsill. "I'm so sorry," he wheezed.

A moment passed before she said something in reply, "Can I have some explanation?"

His eyes went back to her as he opened his mouth. "I—"

"Sit down, Len."

"O-okay." He scampered to the seat in front of her. Never once a meeting with his mother felt that unsettling, although it was his fault this time around. "I, uh, just got back from the repair shop."

"You have a problem with your car?"

"Not mine, someone else's," he told her. "Some girl who parked her car next to me in the supermarket. She couldn't get her car working and the repair shop wasn't picking up her call, so I offered a ride for her. So, yeah, I just got back." He said, leaving out the part where he went to the café with her because he thought his mother didn't need to know that he forgot about the meet-up. He was the one who came up with the idea, and yet he was the one who forgot.

His mother stirred her hot tea—the sight reminded him of his still burning tongue—as she continued her interrogation, "So it's someone you don't know?"

"Yeah. Sorry for not telling you earlier."

"Well, you really should have told me earlier! I wouldn't get mad if knowing that you're helping someone in need out there."

"Y-yeah." Len looked up to see her face before looking away once again, thinking inwardly that no matter what, he would get scolded by his mother anyway. Perhaps it was something destined to happen, now that he thought about it. He could not run away.

"Was she pretty?" she asked suddenly, successfully catching his attention.

"What?"

And right after he said that, a waiter came to put a bowl of salad on their table, cutting off their conversation abruptly. The waiter didn't come just to serve the salad, however, as he turned his head to him. "What would you like to order?"

His mind went blank for a moment. He hadn't decided what to have for lunch, but his eyes caught the salad served for his mother; that was not bad. "Salad, please. And an orange juice."

"I thought you're going to order tea. You like those, don't you?" his mother chimed shortly after the waiter left.

He surely would, if not because of his tongue—he wondered why it still stung. "Don't feel like having it."

The woman in front of him stuck the fork on the lettuce, taking the chance to speak before putting it into her mouth. "So what was she like?"

He thought she had brushed the question off. "She was pretty nice. But well, she's just a stranger, I don't know much about her." Right then, it dawned upon him that he didn't even learn her name. That was another matter, however. "Are we here to talk about that?"

"Well, I just want to check on you, but you seem all right."

"And why wouldn't I…?" He asked skeptically. "I'm… I'm fine, Mom. My studies are going well—good enough, I mean—and my projects are going well as well… Nothing you should worry about."

Then she gave him a sour smile. "I know, but I just can't help but worrying. Rin has just recently left the house, too, so it's just me and your dad."

Len tried to find back the comfort from the cushiony seat as he shifted. "About Rin. Honestly I'm surprised with the… I mean, that's just as expected, but she didn't say anything to me about departing for the academy—she didn't even say anything about applying for it. She should at least say something to me." Then he looked down, resting his arms on the table. "Why didn't you tell me earlier, Mom?"

He could see his mother through the reflection on the well-polished table. A mere blurry outline, but he could see her slowing her eating pace, as if she was giving herself a chance to think. "She said she didn't want to bother you," she told him at last.

"I'm not gonna be bothered at all."

"Well," she shrugged, "you tell her that yourself, then. I'm just doing what your sister asked me to do. She's being considerate of you, you know?"

He let out an exasperated sigh. "This is difficult," he said, tugging on his hairband to let his hair down. Even his messy hair had begun to bother him. While he was in the middle of it, the waiter came to serve his food.

"You can see her once she's finished, there's nothing difficult about it."

"I know." But the fact that he didn't get to say 'good luck' or anything in that matter bothered him for no apparent reason. He chose not to said it, though, his mother would just question him further.

He started to bite on his food while still expecting his mother to throw more question to him, except that she didn't. That went for a little while until her question came again. "Why don't you tell me something about yourself, Len?"

"Haven't I?" He put down his fork, placing it on the salad bowl. "About my studies and my projects; there's nothing else I need to tell. It's been rather… boring." Only that day something rather eventful happened to him; he thought that the teal-haired girl he just met before got too much of his attention, but that was something he would rather keep to himself.

"So I get it that you haven't got a girlfriend?"

The question successfully made him look up from the plate. "What?"

"I thought it's that moment of life where you get a girlfriend and have fun together. Or that you have no interest in girls?"

His mother was being too straightforward with her question; maybe the fact that he didn't have a girlfriend bothered her for real. "I do, of course. But I just don't feel like having one? Besides, I'd spend more time on walking around the town looking for objects, rather than spending it with, you know, a girlfriend."

"Well, you can look for one you can take around the town with you."

His mother got a point, Len had to admit it, but the idea didn't really please him. Being in no mood to argue, he simply answered with, "Sure, I'll think about it."

She turned to her tea. "I hope you do," she said with a bitter smile, one he could not describe nor he could answer.