He had been expecting that kind of reaction from her, but even so, he still found it amusing. With a laugh, he shook his head, taking a step forward towards the girl. “Haha, it’s no problem, really. I don’t mind. Oh and before you think so, I don’t have any bad intentions whatsoever.” He added with a slight shrug of his shoulders.
“Go ahead and take your pick.” He allowed his eyes to wander over to the boxes of candy still piled up on the shelf in front of them, as he juggled the pack of Skittles casually between his two hands. He glanced back at the female for the briefest moment before frowning and tilting his head slightly to the side, allowing his gaze to linger on her. “Actually, I have to wonder. I’ve never really seen you ‘round here before. You new here?”
If he was being too curious and prying too much into the girl’s own business, Kazuki would have no way of knowing unless she told him so. He guessed that that was one thing from his childhood that he couldn’t leave behind. His curiousity and inquisitiveness. Or should we say, nosiness. Sure, he was much more mature now than he was when he was thirteen, but there were some things that just didn’t change, he supposed.
█▓▒░ —— ✎
Does this person ever stop laughing?
Bad intentions? She called him a bitch (by accident, but whatever) and he was now offering to buy her something. What was so bad about that? He was so nice that it was sickening. ‘Um, if you say so.’
It took a searching glance and five seconds for her eyes to spot what she wanted. Easy, really. It was what she always wanted, not counting pretzels. There were several flavors, but in the end her finger was pointing at a black-and-white rectangular box, with glaring red letters that spelled “POCKY” and “PANDA” below the first word. 'Is it okay if I want that?’
'And you’re right.’ Feeling her gaze on her, she turns her head and meets it, shoulders shrugging. 'My family and I just moved here.’ The decision had been met with much protest on her part; just when she finally had actual friends, they were going to move? It was like life was bent on making her miserable. Her brother had dismissed her worries as ridiculous, and so had her parents. She was going to make new friends easily, they said.
Easy for them to say. Even if she could somehow do that, what if she didn’t want new friends? Her friends back at home were more than perfect.
Finally managing to calm down, he nodded towards the girl in acknowledgement, a faint smile still on his lips. “It’s nice to meet you, Helina. I’m Kazuki.”
Eyes dropped down to the pack of Skittles still clutched in one hand and he grinned as he turned back to the female. “Thanks again for these, by the way.” His gaze immediately took notice of the small, now-empty cardboard box on the shelf in front of the other where the Skittles should have been.
Turning back to look at her, he smiled and added, “But I’d feel bad if you just freely gave this to me, seeing as it’s the last one. I’ll get you something in return. I’ll even pay for it.” Some people might think that he was going a bit too far by offering to pay for whatever the girl was going to buy, but to Kazuki, giving someone you had just met the last packet of candy in the store was already more than enough reason for him to do this for her. Besides, she had just saved him the trouble of deciding which treat he should get.
█▓▒░ —— ✎
'Nice to meet you, too. I guess. And you kind of deserve them.’ She followed his line of sight to the Skittles in his grasp and was wondering where this was going, when his next statement made her abruptly snap her head back up. Eyes widened, eyebrows raised, she stared at him with something akin to surprise and disbelief. She had just called him ‘bitch,’ after all, disregarding the fact that it was an accidental occurrence.
And aside from that—well, it wasn’t like she disliked people buying things for her. Quite the opposite, really. She was the type to ask her friends to buy food for her, often with a wide smile and her best attempt at puppy dog eyes. But she was more shy when it came to strangers.
'There’s really no need!’ It was far too kind. She had just mistaken this boy as one of her friends and called him a derogatory term, which was a good enough reason to give him her food. But for him to treat her to something?
It was actually taking all of Kazuki’s effort not to just burst out laughing like that. He had already turned his body so he wasn’t directly facing the girl, as he was sure that any made eye contact with her would only make his fit of giggling even worse. More than his shoulders were beginning to shake as his hand was still firmly clasped over his mouth, determined not to let any of his stifled laughter be heard. He couldn’t even properly answer the girl’s question.
He was surprised when he heard her laughing along, but was secretly pleased by it and finally took his hand off his mouth, letting his laughter ring out loud and clear. He swiped at a tear in his eye before it could form and turned to look at the female, grinning. “Sorry about that…couldn’t help it.” He ended his sentence with a chuckle, which was a laugh he had managed to control so it wouldn’t come out as loud as it originally would have.
█▓▒░ —— ✎
'I can see that,’ she remarked dryly. Eyes fixed on him still danced with mirth, even though her lips were only shaped in a faint smile. The sight of someone laughing because of her made her quite happy. Something like that was enough to lift ones mood. And when you spent a few minutes giggling with someone, it was a lot harder to be embarrassed around them, easier to do bold things, like introducing yourself first.
Yeah, absolutely bold.
‘My name is Helina.’ Her arms stayed by her side; nothing personal, but she was never a fan of handshakes or anything that involved skin contact. Even during the Mass, when everyone sang the Lord’s Prayer she always kept her hands to herself unless she was her parents, who would force her to hold their hands.
He had quickly directed his gaze away from the other and towards the packets of candy on the shelf in front of him, intent on ignoring her and pretending that nothing had ever happened, as most people seemed to do in the most awkward of situations. But now that Kazuki thought about it, he had to admit. It was pretty hilarious. He actually wished that he had caught the whole thing on his camera phone.
Head turned to look back at the female in surprise as she began to apologize. “Pfft,” he stifled a laugh by biting down on his lower lip and reaching up to partly cover his mouth. A tiny giggle escaped past his lips but there was nothing else after that, except for a slightly mischiveous smile.
“Thanks.” He said as he gladly received the Skittles from her. Another, louder giggle found its way out before he could stop it and the male immediately clapped a hand over his mouth, eyes darting away from the other as his shoulders began to shake with his unheard laughter.
█▓▒░ —— ✎
‘H-Hey! What’s so funny?’ She fought to make her voice stern, but something like that, she now discovered, was quite difficult to do when one’s skin was still crawling with embarrassment. And the question was useless, anyway. Sadly, she knew exactly what was funny.
It didn’t take long for her to crack. She had always been one of those people who laughed easily, especially when someone else started laughing first. Crying? Not so much. She was very good at holding tears in. But when it came to laughing, well…
A giggle bubbles out of her lips, which she instantaneously covers with her hands. Trying to control herself, she shot him a look, but its effect was easily ruined by the laughs that escaped her every now and then. To the passers-by, they must have looked like a strange sight.
These were the first and only four words that came into Kazuki’s mind when the female started waving a pack of Skittles directly in front of his face. He had just happened to wander over to where she stood, his prime destination being the assortment of candy she appeared to be standing in front of. He had been idly wondering which one he should buy - when that happened.
A strange look directed towards the girl came over his features and there was a long, pregnant pause before he replied, a little pointedly and hesitantly, “No, it’s…fine.”
█▓▒░ —— ✎
Dear God, why me?
A few moments were spent praying for the ground to swallow her right now, but when nothing happened she forced herself to meet his eyes, trying to look as apologetic as possible. ‘I’m really sorry. You’re, um, you’re not a bitch. Please know that I mean that with the entirety of my soul,’ she stated as solemnly as she could.
She swayed the Skittles in front of him again, only from a more acceptable distance. 'You can still have it if you want…’ Cue a weak smile that probably looked more like a grimace.
