Ren sighed countless times when he was heading home. He felt completely hopeless. The adolescent was thinking on how he should approach her tomorrow. How he could help both of them. How he could do anything without even being assumed of doing something wrong at school.
Ugh... these days just keep getting better and better. He sighed deeply, mindlessly walking home. Hm? Once he reached home he saw a familiar figure walk into the café. Is that...?
The teen increased his pace, wanting to eagerly know if that was who he assumed it was. Once he entered, his expression turned into a look of surprise.
"Shiho...?" He questioned instantly.
"Hm...?" She looked over.
When she noticed who it finally was, she spit out her tea, making it land all over Sojiro...
"Oh my God! I am so sorry, sir! I-I didn't mean for-"
Sojiro held up his hand in front of her while wiping the coffee off of his face with his other hand. A small chuckle escaped as he cleaned the tea off of his face.
"Thank goodness you didn't choose coffee. So don't worry about it." He shook his head with a look of amusement, obviously hiding his look of annoyance for the sake of the customer, "I don't live far, so if you'll excuse me."
Sojiro sighed deeply as he headed towards the door, "Keep an eye on the shop for me while I go change. Okay?"
Ren nodded, both nervous and happy to see Shiho. When Sojiro left the building, it just ended up being Ren and Shiho. Their hearts both raced again. Both deafening them.
"W-Well... I'm... I'm lucky to have bumped into you again." Ren broke the silence first as he walked to sit beside her, "Sort of makes me feel as though this is fate." He smiled then instantly sighed deeply, feeling like an idiot, automatically leading himself into actually facepalming himself right in front of her. Literally. "Ow..." He groaned, embarrassment adding into the pot.
"Goodness, are you okay?" Shiho gave a look of concern, but failed at hiding her smile as a laugh escaped along with it.
"Yeah... I'm fine." He groaned, this time face planting on the bar. "Gah! What is wrong with me today?!" He took his glasses off and covered his face after realizing too late he still had them on.
"Thank goodness they didn't get damaged..." He sighed with both relief and annoyance.
At that point, Shiho couldn't hold back her laughter. Her teeth shining in front of him once again, showing off her rare angelic face. She sighed, lessening on her laughter.
"I'm so sorry for laughing." She covered her mouth, "I-I just couldn't help it!" It trailed on a bit more.
Ren followed along with her look of amusement. He felt his heart skip a beat again. He still didn't understand, but it mattered little to none to him right now. The thing that mattered the most to him at this moment, was her.
"Like I've said many times and will say again, don't hold back your laughter." He mimicked her smile, "It's beautiful every time it shows." He said without thinking.
Shihos face turned red right after she heard that. Ren looked at her, curious on why she's giving him such an expression. Then it finally dawned on him on what he stated which led him to turning just as red, making him look away again.
"Um... I'd like to say forget what I just said, but I'm telling you the truth. Please keep showing that beautiful smile." He rubbed the back his head, still looking away, "Sort of the only thing that keeps me going back to school to be honest..." He mumbled, a sigh soon dragging behind.
Ren finally calmed his racing heart, building up his courage again to look back at Shiho. When he looked back at her he was clueless on why her face was utterly red. He cocked his head to the side, as dense as ever.
"Are you okay, Shiho?" He asked, still not linking A to B.
"Y-Yeah... I'm-I'm totally fine!" She spit out, "Definitely fine! Nothing wrong at all!" She laughed awkwardly, not succeeding on keeping her cool, but lucky for her, it still didn't get through to him.
"I'm relieved to hear that." He exposed his childish grin, unconsciously placing his hand on her head, ruffling it a little, being playful.
Shiho's cheeks became flushed and her heart was beating fast, feeling overwhelming filled with warmth and safeness by Ren's grin and soft hand resting on her head. A sigh of happiness escaped her lips, her eyes closing slowly as she felt she finally caught her breath again. A sudden scent of cinnamon waft in front of her, when her sense of smell increased, assuming it was coming from Ren. She opened her eyes, giving a calming beam which led Ren to copy her expression.
The whole room fell silent. This time it didn't feel awkward. It didn't feel uncomfortable. It didn't feel anything like it did at school. They didn't understand it at all, but with the coziness, the sweet scent, and the peacefulness coming from both of them. It felt like a complete safe haven. But sadly enough...
"Sorry for the wait." Sojiro said, walking in, "Hm?" He looked up, only seeing Shiho at the bar, "Where did that kid go?" The elder man sighed deeply, "Unbelievable..." He breathed out a laugh, filled with disbelief.
"I'm sorry about the wait, Miss." He placed a crooked smile on his face, apologizing in Ren's behalf.
"O-Oh, don't worry about it, sir." She forced a grin, trying all her might not to blush and put ease on her racing heart. "I should be going." She stood, paying for her cup, "I don't want to be anymore of a bother than I already have been. I'd also like to deeply apologize about earlier. I didn't mean to... to..."
"It's okay." He laughed.
Ren's heart was beating fast to where it felt like he ran a whole mile with lightning speed with no break. His whole face was red. The teen couldn't believe how things felt back there. He was saddened that he stupidly ran upstairs right when he heard Sojiro's voice. The adolescent sighed deeply, trying to balance out his emotions again and thankfully it didn't take long. Well, it didn't last long either...
"Hey, kid! Get down here and escort this little lady back to the train, safely!" He smirked when looking towards the stairs. A chuckle escaped once hearing rattling and crashing noises, automatically knowing what the cause of it was from.
"He'll be down shortly, Miss." He grinned politely.
"Oh! No! I-It's not necessary!" Shiho stated quickly, wanting to end this painful feeling of awkwardness, but before she could even go further into the debate, he reappeared.
"Sh-Shall we go?" He mumbled, feeling as though his heart was about to explode any minute now.
"Stay safe you two." Sojiro breathed out a laugh, watching the teens walk out. "Be nice and don't do anything stupid! Got it, Ren?"
All the teen could do was nod as they both left the café, feeling nothing, but awkward silence once again.
