The male turned his back to leave the female at her will; that was until her kind words had caused a moment of hesitation.
With brisk thought, the fitly-framed male turned to meet russet optics and a cher-framed visage with an all too expressive grin. He stood before her for a brief moment before deciding upon a respectable reply.
“Are you positive I won’t be a bother?” He asked as an extremity gracefully found its way to rest upon the nape of his neck.
█▓▒░ —— ✎
Truthfully, seeing him turn around and walk away would ease the worries in her chest and probably reduce the chances of a heart attack, but it would be rude to tell him that if he stayed, he would be bothering her, wouldn’t it? Cursing her inability to say no for the umpteenth time that day, a slender hand lifted itself off a sketchpad, using the pencil in its grasp to make a gesture towards the seat across her.
'Eh, it’s okay. I really don’t mind.’ Her gaze slowly traveled away from him and fixed itself on her hands, which suddenly seemed a thousand times more interesting. Red—surely, that was the shade of her countenance by now; she could feel the embarrassment oozing from as far as the tips of her toes. Both her parents were socialites, and her brother was a social butterfly as well; selfish bugger probably took all the socially adept genes with him.
A brisk slip into intimacy — from which he recovered — resided with him when emerald optics had found themselves grasped by the woman who seemed to be captivated in other activities. Though, it seemed as if she were reading.
Moments passed before he realized he had subconsciously made his way towards this lady whom had captivated his unrequited attention..that was until she spoke.
“I wish nothing of the sort,” he replied half-decently. After a mere second, or what seemed like a minute or two, a passing of discouragement seemed to have wept over him with her use of tone. “I apologize to have bothered you.”
█▓▒░ —— ✎
As the unexpected—but very, very welcome—reply reaches her ears, it’s as if his denial has caused the tension weighing on her shoulders to disintegrate, and she sags against her seat. Coffee-colored eyes flicker up to meet his as lips curl into a weak, but significantly relaxed smile.
‘Oh, um, it’s okay! There’s nothing to apologize for?’ Then the realization that she has said the sentence in such a way that makes it sound more like a question gives her the sudden urge to bang her head against the table directly in front of her (really, that was just taunting her, now). But she is able to stop herself due to the feeling that the motion would do nothing save make her look even more foolishthan she already did.
Well, she hadn’t run away yet, so he was apparently getting better with the whole approaching people thing. “Well you see, I’m really stupid,” he said with a grin as though he was proud of it. “And I got kicked out of my house until I can figure out these riddles. It’s the usual punishment,” he shrugged. There was always some test to pass. “So then - You can only keep it once you give it to somebody. What is it?”
█▓▒░ —— ✎
Dark eyebrows are raised at the way he says it; a grin usually wasn’t what you presented to someone who called you S T U P I D, unless you were about to punch them in the face. Not like she was speaking from experience. She was far too craven.
It takes a few seconds of thinking before her face lights up, a possible answer finally reached by her mind. Then her expression deflates, the familiar fear of being wrong swallowing up her joy. ‘Eh.. try α pяσмιѕє. Sorry if it’s wrong or anything.’
…What was this dark aura he felt ever since he got out of the store? It felt like he landed in a horror story Hiroyuki tended to tell him.There goes Keita’s plan to just get ice cream and then get away as soon as possible. He looked from where the source came from. After all, the person might have the red lines around his neck.
Then he noticed a girl who looked… quite depressed. Gulping, he decided he should go to her and maybe find out why she’s so negative. “…Uhm.” And suddenly he remembered how social awkward he is.
█▓▒░ —— ✎
At the somewhat hesitant murmur, she forcibly lifts her gaze from the floor and fixes the stranger with the blank kind of stare that somehow manages to be no-nonsense as well. According to hearsay, she has intimidated a lot of people by looking at them that unblinking way, but she doesn’t really care. In fact, it gives her some sort of sadistic pleasure.
When she finally finds her voice after the prolonged silence, it comes out as a croak. Very attractive. ’..yes?’
His feet swung to the beat of his thoughts, heels smacking into the bricks of the wall he’d taken a seat on. Ugh, he must have been thinking for hours, or as the digital clock flashing on the nearby marquee showed, twenty minutes. Luckily for him there was this meatba- er, human coming along that looked smart enough. “Hey,“ he attempted in a friendly greeting as he hopped down from his perch. "Do you know anything about riddles? I’m stuck on one.”
█▓▒░ —— ✎
Surprise at being called over by a stranger forces her feet into a stop, and his remark is greeted by a blink and a searching stare. Slowly, she shrugs and shuffles over, stopping again once there is an acceptable distance for conversation between. Even if he is a serial killer of sorts, he isn’t stupid enough to do anything rash in a public place, is he?
With a lazy shrug, she drawls, ‘Depends.’ She had been an excellent riddle solver once, but that was years ago.
The words are said in a monotone, accompanied by a matching deadpan stare. Some friends, leaving her with the booth as they get more pastries from the bakery. Just because she’s ‘too weak to lift the trays up even if she tries’. Damn this school event, overall. If this customer is going to decide to wait for the pastries (or to stay in the shade with her, damn heat!), damn them too for making her life even more awkward than it already is.
